Our Past

by Sandi Gearld

 How many hours of your life have you spent dwelling on your past and beating yourself up mentally over the things you regret doing or not doing? I know I've probably wasted an equivalent of years tormenting and punishing myself over my past.

 The Lord has been dealing with me about this in a big way for awhile now and He's helped me to get the revelation of the fact that our past is our past. There is nothing we can do about it. One thing in my past I had been dwelling on for years was mistakes and wrong choices I made while raising my daughter. Every time something or someone would spark a memory of any of those things (whether real or perceived), I would secretly torment myself mentally with guilt and remorse, as if that would make it all better. Then I realized that I can't go back one second into the past and change any of it but I CAN purpose to do better in the present and the future. I can't give my daughter any "do-overs" for the times I was not there for her or made a wrong choice, but I can make the most of the present and future that I have been blessed with to spend with her. 

 I'm reminded, in Joel 2:25, that God will restore (and/or replace) the years that the locust and cankerworm have eaten/stolen. We can't change the past but God will see to it that the things we've grieved over, or had regrets of, are restored in the areas where restoration is possible - or replaced by something better. When something is restored, it's brought back to its former or original state (renewed, rebuilt, altered, brought back to an undamaged and fully-functional or improved condition). When something is replaced, it's either put back into its former or proper place OR something new fills the place of (supplies an equivalent for) the thing that was lost.

 We can actually use the past to improve our present and our future if we'll form a positive attitude about it. We can view it as:

 1) A catalyst to change us. We can change whatever it is we need to change. It might not be easy but with God all things are possible. He is on our side.

 2) A birthing pain/contraction into the new. God can take our past and use the events to birth the new things He has for us into our lives. He can use them to "push" us through to that good plan He has for us, according to Jeremiah 29:11.

 3) A learning experience. We can learn from our mistakes as well as the good things in our past to reform the foundation and building materials of our future. Famous men and women in history who invented products we enjoy today learned by trial and error. They made many mistakes before they got it right. But they learned from the past - what to do and what not to do; they persevered and didn't give up.

 4) A measuring stick. We can see how far we've come in God. Every little victory is a big thing in God's eyes. It's like a parent watching their child take his or her first step, or pedal the bike without the training wheels. You'd think that child won a gold medal in walking or riding a bike! It's the same way with God. We look back in a positive manner and remember where we used to be and see how far we've come. Even though we still make mistakes, we're doing better and better as time goes by into the new past that we're creating.

 5) A testimony to help others. Nothing is wasted in God's kingdom. The Word says that He causes all things to work for good (Romans 8:28). We see by reading the Bible that we're not the first ones to do things we do. We have many examples in the scriptures of men and women who committed (and overcame) sins and mistakes and are now testimonies to help us today. We're the same way in our world. We can help others to overcome and gain victory in their lives when we open ourselves up and share with them what God's brought us through and where we are now. A lot of our testimony is a silent witness - people watch us when we don't realize it.

 We simply cannot live in our past. It can be detrimental to our health, our relationships and every other part of our life. We can't go into our future that God has for us until we put the past behind us. We might not be able to forget it, but we must forgive and let go - and that includes forgiving ourselves. His plans for us and our future are good but we must make the purposeful choice to go forward into that good future. God is "I AM", not "I WAS". He's with us every second of every day for eternity.

 Sometimes we think we cannot be of any value to God or anyone else because of our past deeds. The Word says that we become born again, we become a new creature in Christ. Old things have passed away, all things become new (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Our old man dies and we become filled with God Himself. We still have to develop the fruit of that new nature, and it will always be challenging at times, but we can rest assured that God is not keeping score of past failures and sins, or holding them against us. He makes all things new and He is for us, not against us. We're His beloved family.
 We have forgiveness of our sins and shortcomings when we repent (turn around). Psalms 103:12 says He has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west; though they are as scarlet they are washed white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).  Since He does not remember them, we should make it a point not to either. If you pray or cry out to God about them, He doesn't know what you're talking about. BUT the devil does! He's the accuser of the brethren. He's torment, pain, negative thinking and actions. When we torment ourselves over our past, we're basically siding with him and what he says about us. But what does Truth say about it? The Word says that the devil is the father of lies and there is no truth in him. We, on the other hand, are the victors; we're more than conquerers through Jesus and His redeeming Blood; we're God's children, heirs of salvation. The blessings of Abraham (our father in faith) are ours. That is a marvelous inheritance.

 Another thing we must remember when thinking on the past is that we cannot stop and camp out on our victories and accomplishments either. We must keep moving forward so that we can fulfill the destiny that He's created us for. Paul had accomplished many powerful things for the Kingdom by the time he was imprisoned in Rome but he acknowledged that he still wasn't done. In Philippians 3, he makes mention of his accolades and accomplishments. Then in verses 13-14, he states, "but one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal…" While in prison, he lived daily with the threat that it could be his last day. He even mentioned that dying and going on home to Heaven would be a welcome thing for him, but he knew he had not finished his course yet and needed to persevere and fulfill his destiny. He did just that. Today, we learn from his example and can be just as victorious and fulfilled as he was at the end of his earthly life.

 So I encourage you to refuse to let the memories of your past hold you back. Use them as positive tools to build your future - a catalyst for change, a birthing pain to the new, a learning experience, a measuring stick and a testimony. Move forward towards the high calling that you've been anointed and appointed to, whatever that calling might be.