The past can haunt us til the day we die IF we choose to let it. All of us have a past....some worse than others. We have all experienced hurt, disappointment, and/or rejection of some form or another at the hands of another in our lifetime. Some have experienced far worse....abuse, torture, murder of a loved one, death, suicide, etc. Yet if we continue to live in the past, we choose to miss the blessings of TODAY! Yes, I know how difficult it is to let it go, but let it go you must. The longer you cling to the hurts or failures of the past, the longer you will be in bondage to your past.
The past can so paralyze you that you are no good for what God has in store for you TODAY. God says "Sufficient for today is the evil thereof!" (Matt. 6:34) One of my favorite quotes says:
Release the regrets of yesterday
Refuse the fears of tomorrow
Receive instead the peace of today
2008 is a new year. What happened in 2007 or 1997 or 1957 is GONE!!!! LET IT GO!!! It is a choice. You can choose to wallow in self pity, hurt, anger, bitterness or regret for the rest of your life, or you can choose to turn your back on those things and press on for all that God has in store for TODAY!! Which will you choose?
You have heard the old saying "The mind is the devil's playground"....Well, this saying is true. You can dwell on things that are hurtful, negative and fearful, allowing Satan to consume you with bitterness, hatred, fear and regret. Or you can focus your mind elsewhere. It is your CHOICE!
When you are alone and have time on your hands, what do you find yourself dwelling on? Are you reliving the past? Are you re-trying all the old hurts or wrongs that have been done to you by another? Are you replaying old arguments in your head? Are you nursing old wounds? Are you beating yourself up for sins that you committed? Are you dwelling on the "what-if's" or "if-onlies"? If you are doing any of these things, you are wasting God's time....TODAY! He has given you THIS day to glorify Him, to share Him with someone else, to bless someone else not to wallow in your past. Satan is doing a number on you and it's time you fought back.
When those old thoughts begin to fill your mind, you must take offensive action. Use them as a tool to turn your thoughts to the Lord. Begin to quote scripture. If you don't know any by heart, then now is the time to commit some to memory. Or write some verses on 3x5 cards and put them where you can see them, keep a few in your purse or wallet, so that you can pull them out anytime, anywhere. Allow those thoughts to immediately send you to the Lord in prayer, asking Him to take those negative thoughts captive. (II Cor. 10: 5b) Substitute praise music for what is going on in your mind. You can't sing praises to the Lord and dwell on the past at the same time!! Soon Satan will learn that trying to take you down that road is NOT going to work. You will find yourself breaking free from the chains of the past that have bound you for so long.
THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE. I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!!!! (Ps 118:24)
The past is just that....PAST! Today is a new day...a gift to be dedicated to the Lord, to be enjoyed, to be used for Him. Let go today. Do not waste another minute dwelling on the past. IT IS HISTORY!!! Redeem the time...don't waste it! Every second you waste thinking of and dwelling on the past, is a second you could have been focusing on Christ or doing what He has called you to do TODAY.
ONE MORE TIME....
"Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before [ahead], I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of Jesus Christ." Phil. 3:13, 14
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