“I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead…”
Philippians 3:13
Turning in the past.
“Turn in your past.” Those are the words I remember clearly being impressed on my heart multiple times over the course of a few months last year. Of course, I thought I had already let go of my past and dealt with things that had been clinging to me for way too long. Nevertheless, I had a sense that there were still things from my past that I hadn’t fully dealt with or entrusted to the Lord. All of which, the Lord was showing me, I could not take with me into the next seasons of life.
As I pondered the thought of letting go of the past, I came to terms with what that meant – recognizing all of the hurts, emotional wounds, decisions, and relational issues of the past and recognizing the weight I was carrying from each of them. I decided to heed the Lord’s prompting to leave them right where they are – in the past.
The weight of it all.
The world is a hard place. We continually suffer wrongs from other people while we also, whether intentionally or accidentally, hurt others ourselves. Our sin nature makes it hard to do what’s right and also hard to forgive those who hurt us. If we aren’t careful, we can let loads of weight and shame and guilt tag along with us through life, affecting how we view ourselves, view others, and even how we view God. We may not even know exactly where the shame comes from, whether a specific event in the past or something we have believed about ourselves while growing up.
God never intended us to carry that load. Sometimes we experience Christian teaching, whether as children or adults, which tells us we need to carry the weight and be somber and ultra-strict and religious. In those overly legalistic environments we truly miss out on experiencing the grace and mercy of our Heavenly Father. I have been a Christian since I was 3 or 4 years old. Now, as a 31-year-old, it has only been in the past few years that I have come to know and personally experience the gift of God’s love, mercy, and grace extended toward us.
Once I realized that God only wanted good for me and that He didn’t want me to bear the weight of the past or who I’ve been, it became a lot easier to serve God with a pure and whole heart and to love other people (ok, that is still a challenge sometimes, but I’m moving in the right direction). Serving God and loving others, and even just receiving God’s love, is really hard to do with a shameful and heavy heart that is focused on past mistakes. Do you think God is focusing on your past mistakes or inviting you to step out from under it and into a great future full of love and good things?
Moving forward.
The problem is that we don’t always think that we CAN or SHOULD let go of the past. We feel like we deserve the heaviness or shame or that we should work to fix the past. We try to earn some sense of freedom from what’s been done by carrying the weight of it or trying to be perfect. Truly, no amount of striving can ever repay what has been done to or through us.
God wants to heal us from the inside out. He wants to take away the guilt and shame of what’s been done and also heal the hurts and wounds and misconceptions in us that cause us to do the wrong things. He gives us a new heart and new spirit and puts His own Spirit inside of us to help us. We are not alone in this journey, and He gives us everything we need to live out the abundant life to which He calls us.
Rather than living out of a place of shame and regret, we can live every day in a place of rest, mercy, grace, and freedom. We can focus our minds on the Lord and the good things He is doing and forget the past.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1
Clinging to the past actually hinders God’s work in our lives. It keeps us from growing and from living out the good and fruitful life He desires for us and that He has given us through Jesus Christ. We have to let go of the past in order to move forward.
Letting go of the past means that I trust God to cover my mistakes and sins and forgive them all. It means believing that what Jesus did on the cross was enough for covering everything and taking it all away. It also means trusting that He only wants good things for me. A good future and a hope that will not be cut off.
If we trust Him with our past, we can also trust Him with our future.
When we let go of the past and all of the weight and shame, we can live every day as a new creation in Christ. Fully known, fully loved, and fully able to step into all the good things the Lord has planned for us. A life full of joy, hope, strength, love, communion with Him, and peace in believing. A life in which we can fully and unashamedly express the fullness of love and mercy we have received in Him.
Takeaway Action/Challenge: What are some things from your past (childhood, hard experiences, broken relationships, wounds, etc.) that are weighing you down? Write those down this week and give those to the Lord. Believe that as you confess or give those to the Lord, that He will make you brand new. He will do the work in you to remove the shame and weight of the past. Walk fully in the freedom and joy He gives you as He does this work daily in you. Choose to do a new thing rather than dwelling on the past.
