If you take a moment to think of a celebrity who has wrecked their career or self sabotaged it, you probably won’t have to think long. One young celebrity started having a public feud with her family. She began abusing different substances. She then started getting DUI’s stealing from stores and broke her probation. Her unresolved personal struggles created a cycle she couldn’t break for years and her past became the gravitational pull from which she began making decisions. It’s easy to sit in judgement because her story played out publicly, but many of us allow our past to dictate our decisions and the direction of our life.
We don’t have to live that way though. The Bible is full of people who broke that cycle. I can think of the woman at the well, Mary Magdalene and Peter who found a way to overcome their past. In Joshua 2 Israel had sent spies into Jericho before they attacked. They went to the home of Rahab, a known prostitute, to stay the night. When the king tried to get her to turn them in, she protected them. She asked for safety when they attacked her city in exchange. She followed their directions and saved herself and her family. More than that, she is listed in the genealogy of Jesus. She is a great example of someone who broke free and quit letting what defined her shape her future.
Philippians 3:13 says, “Of course, my friends, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead” (GNT). The word “forget” here doesn’t mean erasing your past. It means you quit letting it dictate your future. We must each release the past’s authority to make our decisions and control the direction of our life. When we do that, we can head for what God has ahead for us. He has already cast your past away as far as the east is from the west. It’s time for you to release it as well. Your future is not determined by your past anymore. Once you’re forgiven, you are defined by God’s grace instead of who you were. Let go of who you were and reach forward to that which God is calling you to. You can change directions through Christ Jesus.
Photo by Honney Artkongharn on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 