Tag Archives: living in the past

February 5, 2024 · 5:37 AM

Quit Looking Back

When driving, how often do you use the rear view mirror? It’s used for the occasional looking back, but if you looked in it for most of your driving, it would be dangerous to move forward. Our lives should be lived the same way. I’ve known people who live in their past. They feel like their best years are behind them. I’ve known other people who are prisoners of their past. They can’t move forward because of something that happened back there. When our past is disrupting our present and keeping us from our future, we’re spending too much time looking backwards. I’ve spent a lot of time in my life looking in my rear view mirror reliving the pain, but God reminded me that He can use the past to bring healing to others if I’ll look ahead.

When Israel was set free from their captivity in Egypt, they were thrilled. They were given gold and silver on their way out to let them know God was taking care of their future. He also was out front with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. However, every time they encountered some kind of hardship or difficulty, they immediately began to look in the rear view mirror. They saw their slavery as a form of security. When God showed them the Promised Land and He had prepared for them, they rebelled. Numbers 14:4 says, “Then they plotted among themselves, ‘Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!’” (NLT). They were so bound up by their past, they wouldn’t fight for their future. They were willing to sacrifice the blessings and provision of God to return to their bondage.

Proverbs 4:25 says, “Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.” You will always travel in the direction you’re looking. God has prepared a future for you full of hope and blessings. Don’t miss it because you’re looking backwards. You will encounter hard times. You will be expected to go through some battles. Don’t let those push you back into your past. Instead let them strengthen you and give you confidence in what God is doing in you. A piece of clay can on,y become pottery after it’s been through the fire. Your best days are ahead of you. Your healing is ahead of you. Your victory is ahead of you. Quit using the rear view mirror of your life to look backwards when what God had for you is ahead.

Photo by Darwin Vegher on Unsplash

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June 30, 2022 · 5:30 AM

Stuck In Your Story

My friend tells people, “Don’t get stuck in your story,” when someone is constantly living in the past. You’re stuck in your story when you allow your past pain to rob you of your present. Yes, it happened. Yes, it was and is painful, but if you allow it to consume you, it will rob you of a life that God wants to give you. I spent a lot of time living in the pain of the past instead of in the present. I couldn’t seem to get unstuck. The pain was becoming my identity, so I grew to need it. What I didn’t realize was that it had caused me to quit paying attention to my present and stopped all my progress. I didn’t get unstuck until a friend looked me in the eye and said, “You’ve given up and you’re in a rut. This isn’t who you are, and I don’t want to see you like this.” All of a sudden I saw that I was stuck and I decided to make changes to get unstuck.

In Isaiah 43:18-19, God says, “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present” (MSG). If we keep living in past pains, we will miss what God is trying to do now. I can tell you that the pain of your past can be used for good once you allow yourself to heal. I don’t know why we have to go through painful times that feel like they’re going to crush us. I do know that it’s part of God’s process in getting us to His promise. Just like a grape that’s crushed can never become wine unless it’s moved from the press to the vat, you and I can never fulfill our purpose until we move from the pain to the next part of the process.

Everyone has a past. Everyone. But everyone also has a present. Everyone. If you’re stuck in your story, you can’t move on to the next part of the process that God is trying to do in your life. Acknowledge your pain. It’s real. It happened, but if you live there going over it over and over, you will never heal. Change your routine. Change your habits. Stop dwelling on what happened. You can’t change that. You can change your future though if you will be present in this moment and ask God to help you move to the next part of the process. Everything that’s happened in your life can be used for your good. God wants to do a new thing in your life, but you have to get unstuck and be present for Him to do it. He will make rivers in your desert and bring new life to the dry places of your life.

Photo by Berkeli Alashov on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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