Letting go of the past

[Debp]

This is a favorite verse of mine.   Often people can become stuck in their past, their minds constantly dwelling on the past.   And some people get discouraged over what they think others think about them.   It's important to not be bound by your past or other's opinions of you.   

So the following verse is very liberating.   Forget those things that are in the past, that is, the negative things.   (Good memories are to be treasured.) Know who you are in Christ....a child of God and beloved.   Press forward in your faith in Christ.   There is no condemnation to you who are a child of God.   Always remember that.

 

 

Edited August 1, 2020 by Debp
Added new picture

[Debp]

The Bible again gives us counsel about how to move forward, putting the past behind us.   If you find yourself dwelling on your past too much, that is, bad memories, failures or what people have done to you...the following verse is the answer.   Do what these verses suggest.   

[Sower]

5 hours ago, Debp said:

So the following verse is very liberating.   Forget those things that are in the past, that is, the negative things.   (Good memories are to be treasured.) Know who you are in Christ....a child of God and beloved.   Press forward in your faith in Christ.   There is no condemnation to you who are a child of God.   Always remember that.

God is light. Light removes darkness. (And the word was God!)

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is  a new creation;
old things have passed away;
behold,
all things have become new"
 

And think on the good stuff......

 

 

[Logostician]

God sees us differently than we see ourselves.  He sees Christ in us.  We have a tendency to dwell on the sins of the old man we used to be who was crucified with Jesus.  God sees the new man with Christ in him.

God forgives easily.  We are often far less willing to forgive ourselves.  We need to remember to trust the salvation and forgiveness that Jesus accomplished on the cross and freely gave to us.  Holding on to our sins is tantamount to questioning the efficacy of the finished work of the cross.  It is done we are forgiven.

1 Cor 2:9

But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

We live in a difficult world.  Memories of past failures persist.  But God has promised wonders beyond our imagination for one simple reason.  He loves us.

[Henry_iain]

Regret and bitterness are deadly enemies. And they need to be rooted out completely. And the worst part of it is, as long as they are allowed to grow, they keep stealing from you every day. And only God can deliver us from this. So we need to fix our eyes one him. 

[Ray12614]

4 hours ago, Logostician said:

God sees us differently than we see ourselves.  He sees Christ in us.  We have a tendency to dwell on the sins of the old man we used to be who was crucified with Jesus.  God sees the new man with Christ in him.

God forgives easily.  We are often far less willing to forgive ourselves.  We need to remember to trust the salvation and forgiveness that Jesus accomplished on the cross and freely gave to us.  Holding on to our sins is tantamount to questioning the efficacy of the finished work of the cross.  It is done we are forgiven.

1 Cor 2:9

But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

We live in a difficult world.  Memories of past failures persist.  But God has promised wonders beyond our imagination for one simple reason.  He loves us.

Thanks for this post. From one 'junior' member to another . . . I needed to hear what you said above.

I know the scriptures posted above are true and trustworthy, yet, my failures in life, mostly in ministry, still 'haunt' me at times. Mostly, when I sleep, and I know that they are sins/errors that have been forgiven, yet, the memories of them flood my dreams on occasion. I wake up in the morning worn-out from re-living those failings/sins all over again.

No, they are not personal sins. Those I know how to deal with. They are sins in mis-judging people that are involved in sins that I had nothing to do with, and could not control. As an teaching elder in my church, I have helped a lot of my brothers and sisters in the Lord, yet, at the same time, there have been a few 'key moments' where I have completely mis-judged those situations, and have caused further hurt, and made crises worse than they were before I acted. Unintentional? Yes. Was the outcome the same as if I deliberately hurt people? Yes.  Have I repented of my failures/sins? Yes. Do I still relive those crisis moments in 'flash back dreams'?  Yes.

So, your post above has reminded me as an ministry gift, I need to forgive myself and know that Jesus loves me in spite of my ministry failures.

I thank you for that .   .   .  Ray . .  

 

[Henry_iain]

I am trained as a social worker and I have been involved in youth ministry inn my church. And I have made many mistakes. I tend to get too close sometimes. So I understand this well. Anyone working in a helping profession or involved with helping people, will face the possibility of making such mistakes. I think we have to remember that people are in God's hands in the end and He is in control. He can even use our mistakes to help people. All things work out together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28)

[missmuffet]

19 hours ago, Debp said:

This is a favorite verse of mine.   Often people can become stuck in their past, their minds constantly dwelling on the past.   And some people get discouraged over what they think others think about them.   It's important to not be bound by your past or other's opinions of you.   

So the following verse is very liberating.   Forget those things that are in the past, that is, the negative things.   (Good memories are to be treasured.) Know who you are in Christ....a child of God and beloved.   Press forward in your faith in Christ.   There is no condemnation to you who are a child of God.   Always remember that.

 

 

It is important not to dwell on the past. It can bring all kind of emotions such as anger, regret, guilt, anxiety etc. The Bible tells us we should only focus on the day we are on. Not the past or the future. 

 

[Ray12614]

22 hours ago, Henry_iain said:

I am trained as a social worker and I have been involved in youth ministry inn my church. And I have made many mistakes. I tend to get too close sometimes. So I understand this well. Anyone working in a helping profession or involved with helping people, will face the possibility of making such mistakes. I think we have to remember that people are in God's hands in the end and He is in control. He can even use our mistakes to help people. All things work out together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28)

Thanks for the encouragement. Honestly, it does point to the fact that I was close to those persons. Maybe too close . . . 

Grace and Peace . . . Ray . . . 

[leah777]

sometimes we need to re-visit the past in order to ask God for healing from memories and PTSD events. Often healing is a gradual process, one memory or hurt at a time, over a period of time.