ODJ: letting go
March 26, 2010
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead (v.13).
READ: Philippians 3:8-16
I’ve never been a particularly fast writer, but when it came to texting, my speed was somewhere in the range of “turtlelike.” While receiving a second or third text, I was still responding to the first. So when it came time for a new cell phone, I chose one with a QWERTY keyboard in hopes of gaining speed. As much as I love my keyboard, though, one feature came as a pleasant surprise. I can erase my inbox in a nanosecond. It’s nice to hit that “ok” button and see my screen become a clean slate.
As believers, our spirit takes on new life at the point of salvation. Our minds, however, require continued renewal (2 Corinthians 10:5). Romans 12:2 teaches that we are not to conform to the “behaviors and customs of this world” but to allow the Lord to change us as our minds are renewed in Him. While this Scripture applies to our putting aside the world’s values, we can take on worldly thinking in more ways than one.
Left to our flesh, our minds will replay the past, especially in regard to our regrets. What “was” becomes “our here-and-now” when we allow our desire for a do-over to dominate. Wanting to keep us from moving forward, the enemy lies by telling us the past is not only unforgettable, it’s unforgivable.
Thankfully, God’s Word speaks differently. He has forgiven and does not remember our blood-covered sins (Isaiah 43:25). We cannot be defined by what does not exist. Paul had it right—to go forward we must let go of the past (Philippians 3:13). After all, it’s hard to run a race looking back. Though it requires more than hitting the “ok” button on a cell phone, forgetting the past begins by believing it’s possible. Moving forward depends on it. —Regina Franklin
Are there regretful events or things in your past that keep coming to mind? What has God said about these things? How can focusing on the past keep you from reaching for what God has set before you today?
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