What's in the past is in the past... He holds your future...

“There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor.”

– Deuteronomy 33:26

 

Sometimes we look back at our lives and we think, “Who is that person? Why did I make those decisions? Why did I choose to live my life that way? How was I so wrong?” And we end up feeling nothing but regret. We look back at yester-year and we’re filled with shame of the person we used to be. Of the person we weren’t and knew we should have been. Like Paul said, we did the things we knew we shouldn’t have done and we didn’t do the things we knew we should have. It’s hard for us to acknowledge those days. It’s a hard pill to swallow. I’ve gone through seasons in my life where I really wished the Lord would erase particular memories. The truth is, it’s those very memories that protect us. If we didn’t remember getting burned by fire, we’d be likely to play with it again and end up with the same result. But we remember how hot the flames were. We remember the pain, the burn, the fear. We remember the damage that was done and the last thing we want to do is go back there. It’s for our good that God saved us, and it’s for our good that He doesn’t let us forget that.

 

"It has been said that sometimes the greatest hope in our lives is just a second chance to do what we should have done right in the first place." - Lost December by Richard Paul Evans

 

I’ve learned to praise Jesus when I look at my past. It’s so easy to look back and wish it would have never happened. But it happened. You did that, said that, made that decision, and it is what it is. But you’re not that person anymore. You’ve changed, you’ve been saved, and when those thoughts swiftly flood your mind, bringing guilt and shame, you stop and say, “Thank you, Lord.” Thank you for rescuing me. Thank you for changing my life. Thank you for walking with me through the fire rather than abandoning me. Thank you for sticking in there when it got tough and messy and really difficult. Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for not letting go of me. For not letting me fall away from you. Thank you for teaching me through it. Thank you for bringing me through it. Thank you for having a better plan and for making sure it came to fruition rather than leaving me stuck in the muck and mire. Thank you for second chances, for clearing the slate, and for giving me a new start. Thank you for loving me too much to let me stay in that spot but for propelling me forward into a life of abundance. Thank you for wanting to rescue me and for being able to. Thank you, Lord, that what’s in the past is in the past. You hold my future.