Today I read something…something that struck a chord…something that made complete sense…something that was CLEARLY posted JUST FOR ME! I read a quote: “When your past calls, don’t answer. It has nothing new to say.” The scriptural reference was Philippians 3:13 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,” The thing about the past is, you’ve been there…you already know what happened. You can retell, relive, and rewrite the story but the ending never changes. It’s the past! I looked up the definition of past: gone by in time and no longer existing. You see that??? NO LONGER EXISTING! The past is no more…gone into oblivion…into no where’s land. And that is where it should be.
If you’re anything like me, you sometimes have a hard time letting go of stuff in your past. Like…you convince yourself (I convince myself) that you’re over it…that you’re good but in actuality, you’re clinging on to that last thread. I call it “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome. But as soon as you come across something that reminds you of it, you feel a certain way all over again. My biggest problem is letting go of mistakes that “I have” made. Stuff that I did (big or small) that I let hold me down because I feel so bad about doing it. Stuff that I sit and think, “I can’t believe I did that,” “what was I thinking???” “why did I think that was a good idea???” “who am I to even let myself get here???” But I had to learn (still learning) that even those mistakes are part of my past and that they have NO PLACE in my future! ESPECIALLY if I have already gone before God with them and He has forgiven me. I had to learn (yep, still learning) to stop holding on to my past expectations and be ready to go forth with the future expectations that God has set before me. Alecia had to learn how to accept God’s mercy (though I certainly DON’T deserve it) over her life. Alecia had to learn how to walk in the grace that God granted! The thing about God is, He already knows our flaws and our mistakes and doesn’t need us to keep throwing them at him. He knows what it takes to release us from it but it’s up to us to allow Him to do so.
For some of you, your past may be a relationship that has no place in your present or future. That old boyfriend or girlfriend may be trying to make their way back into your life and your plans. I’ve heard that this is “cuffing season” (young folk terms…lol) so beware of “randoms” (a term I learned from Heather Lindsey…look her up). For others, your past may be a job that you lost or left and now you are feeling regretful about it and it is keeping you from reaching your full potential at your current job. It could be a certain lifestyle that you were used to and now you feel that you are lacking and can’t move on from it even though your needs are met.
Whatever your past is…let it be where it is…IN THE PAST (sometimes I talk to myself…that was for me)! We must know that whatever turns our lives take, that God already knew we would end up there. He knew the detours that would come up and what exits we would take. If we CHOOSE to serve the Lord (yeah it’s a choice we gotta make for ourselves), we have got to KNOW that He has what is best for us ALREADY PLANNED OUT. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” So, if you believe God’s word, then you KNOW that He cannot lie and if He said it, it WILL come to pass. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
Soooooooooo…………the next time your past tries to “rear its ugly head” (cliché insert), send it to the word of God and let it know that you’ve moved on! “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14
Later y’all…and in the words of Rev. MUTHA Elsa, “LET IT GOOOOO, LET IT GOOOOOOO…..!!!!!” 😉
Ms. A.M.White
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