Philippians 3:13-14 NLT, “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, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Our past can really beat us up. Constant reminders of past failures often trouble our minds. The consequences we face from wrong choices can make us feel bad.
The good news is that God’s grace is sufficient to carry us through (2 Corinthians 12:9). The race we are running for the cause of Christ, has rewards that are far greater than we can imagine, both now and in eternity. Our eternal home in heaven awaits us at the finish line.
We can of course learn valuable lessons from our past mistakes. But even more importantly, we can see the many times God has been faithful to us. He has rescued us and kept us safe, in spite of our mess ups.
It can be especially difficult to forget the past when we are still dealing with its consequences. However, we must choose to believe that God has a purpose in everything that we are going through. We are becoming stronger, more mature Christians as we overcome obstacles from past failures. God will use our past to accomplish good things in our future (Romans 8:28).
I pray God will help you as you move on from the past and press on into your future with Jesus Christ. Good things are ahead.
Drawing Closer to Christ 
One thing I have learned through the years is God never wants to waste a thing that comes into our lives, even our past. When I turned over my past to Him thinking He would just want me to forget the bad I found there is no forgetting. But it did not have to rule me, I could rule it with God’s help. So I started using it to help others who had a bad growing up years. that’s what I mean by not wasted it. It does not control me, I control it. Good post.
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Yes I’m glad he uses our past to teach us and to allow us to help others. Like you say nothing is wasted!
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I agree, the past is a trap which can only be overcome with God’s grace!
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Yes we need His grace so the past will not hold us back.
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A great reminder for us Dawn!
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Thanks 😊
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You’re very welcome!
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very well said, Amen.
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Thanks Debby!
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