Back in secondary school, I had a habit of marking my own exam scripts after writing them. I would score myself and grade myself. But instead of giving me peace, it only made me more anxious. So I made a decision: once I finished a paper, I’d hand it over to God. From that day, I had peace, and I began to see better results. I chose freedom.
Friend, you need to be free from your past if you want to live in peace and wholeness. The only person without a past is God. Even the devil has a past. The devil had a glorious past but a terrible future. You, as a believer, may have a messy past, but you have a glorious future (Jeremiah 29:11, 1 Corinthians 2:9).
When God says “forget the former things”, He’s telling us to make a deliberate choice not to live there anymore (Isaiah 43:18-19). It’s easy to dwell on a painful past. It’s also tempting to stay stuck in a glorious past. But God says to let go of both (2 Chronicles 26:15-16).
It has been said that “the good is the enemy of the best.” As a child of God, keep reminding yourself that your best is still ahead (Proverbs 4:18). Until you release the past, you cannot embrace the new. Refuse to let your past control your present or sabotage your future.
Don’t be imprisoned by your past (John 5:5-8). Don’t allow past mistakes, missed opportunities, and regrets to lock up your destiny. Stop replaying what went wrong. Instead, use today to shape tomorrow. No matter how long you travel with your past, it can never take you into your future (Philippians 3:13-14).
God does not consult your past to construct your future. When the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.
Lay your failures at the feet of Jesus. Lay your achievements before Him, too (Philippians 3:7-8). Don’t act like you have arrived. There is always more ahead than behind (Job 8:7).