“this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” Philippians 3:13
Rather than wallowing in the guilt of our past faults and failures, each of us needs to move on. It is not smart to sit alongside the prodigal son in the pig pen of life. Like him, we must come to our senses, get up and come home to Yehovah. The saying goes that the definition of insanity is to continue doing the things you have always done and expect a different result. If you continue to do the things you have always done, you will continue to get the same results you have always got. To continue moving forward you must: 1. Be unwilling to stay in a negative, status-quo situation. 2. Avoid living in the past. 3. Never rest in the present. Always be willing to learn and to grow. 4. Be delivered from your past.
Learn from these examples: 1. David – He was discounted, attacked by Saul, battled against personal sin and failure – but was still spoken of as a man after Yehovah’s own heart. 2. Children of Israel – they were in slavery in Egypt and even rebelled in the wilderness but still went into and possessed the promised land. 3. Joseph. He was sold into slavery, imprisoned and forgotten, but overcame the temptation to wallow in self-pity and resentment, and ended up as Prime Minister and feeding both the Egyptians and Israelites during the famine. 4. Paul had to forget his past guilt, grief and grudges, resist pity-party opportunities in order to write over 50% of the Brit Hadasha. 5. Be devoted to a purpose. If you are discouraged, tired or not where you are supposed to be – press on, press in. Press through!