Phil. 3:13 “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead.”
The world will tell you that the dominating influence in your life is your past. If you came from a difficult home life, that will determine the direction of your life. If your culture was treated unfairly, that will dictate the condition of your life today. If you were hurt or abused or if your youth was spent in rebellion, the remainder of your life will be spent struggling with your past. 2 Cor. 5:17 tells us that if we are believers, if we have been saved, we can live in freedom because Jesus has overcome our past. The old things have been done away with and the new things have come. According to Is. 43:25 God has so totally forgiven the Christian’s sins that He chooses not to remember it. We do not forget the past, but we are not controlled or motivated by it. Christians look to the future with hope and trust and belief and total confidence in the power of God in our lives.
The people od the world focus on what they are overcoming. Christians focus on what they are becoming! Christians know that the Holy Spirit is conforming them into the image of God. Christians know that they will stand before Him to give an account of their actions and we know that we will spend eternity in the presence of God. Christians that every injustice will be addressed and every hurt comforted. They know that Satan, and death itself will be brought to an end. The Christian’s future is so full and so rich and so exciting that it supersedes everything that has happened in the past.
If you are preoccupied with your past, ask God to open your eyes to the incredible future that awaits you, and like Paul, press on to what is ahead!