Letting Your Past Hold You Back

 "You shall not go out with haste,…for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard."  —Isaiah 52:12

 “…God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of [every] year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ. Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him." - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest 

The remembering of our past failures (sins) has two edges.  On the one hand, they remind us that we have a sin nature and that nature has been a powerful influence in our lives.  We have proven the truth of the Word … all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and there is none righteous (Romans 3:10).  Our past failures remind us that we do not deserve God’s favor.  

But on the other hand, we also know that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”  (Romans 5:8).  We know that we have been redeemed.  

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law (from the judgement of God) by becoming a curse for us”. - Galatians 3:13 

That does not mean ours sins are somehow, “OK”, but it does mean that we have been forgiven. 

"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

 It does mean that we have hope.  It does mean that we have help - even the Holy Spirit.  

"In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." - Ephesians 1:13-14 

It does mean that we have a certain future - eternal life.  

"And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." -  1 John 5:11-12

Don’t let your past hold you back.  Don't allow your past to send you on a guilt trip. You are a child of the King.  Focus on your future and rejoice!  

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone