Don't Let The Past Dictate Your Future

Yesterday I had just gotten into the car and was waiting for my 6 year old to get himself settled in his car seat. The door was still open on my side. It was a beautiful day, alive with smells of fresh air & flowers. As I was looking back at my son, a slight wind blew the smell into the car & for a moment I was transported. For just a quick moment my mind took me back to another time and I sat there for a moment & breathed it all in. I had no visual memory, just a strong feeling of happiness & a knowledge that this smell reminded me of it.
What if all of our past memories made us feel that good? I wonder how many of us would walk confidently with a passion for our future if we didn't have a past that we couldn't let go of. Holding onto the past keeps us locked in a place and prevents us from moving forward.

When we become Christians, we accept that Jesus is our Savior and we want to become a new person, but so many times we do not surrender our past to Him. Without that surrender, we are unable to walk forward onto the prosperous future the Lord has for us.

For each person, the past is different, but because we were born into a sin filled world it is inevitable that there is SOMETHING in our past that has affected us. The degree to which we allow that to affect us is the height to which we will soar. Some of us get stuck in mid flight, then we are plucked from the air & crash land.
Did you ever see a program in which it shows a person (most times a child) running toward something & then they look back? When they look back there is usually something in front of them that they just missed and they bang right into it. Usually when they include a scene like this, it is meant to make the viewer laugh, but the reality of it is that if this were REALLY to happen, it would not be funny at all. Yet, my friends, this is exactly what happens to us when we are running forward in our race and we look back. Usually something from our past hits us head on & we get knocked down. For many of us, we find it almost impossible to get back up again. And as Satan is watching OUR "show", he is the one laughing. Look at Luke 9:62 "Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Wow!! That seems pretty harsh, huh? Only to those who do not realize that God is trying to protect us by teaching us that holding on to anything from the past prevents us from moving forward.
Living in the past robs us of a future. Even if your past was great & your present seems bleak, looking back will not change your future. A lot of people become more depressed if they hold on to a "great" past in hopes of getting through their current situation. Unfortunately that only intensifies the feelings of defeat because there is no focus on a future, therefore the person cannot move forward. We DO have a future, God promised it to us in Jeremiah 29:11, it says: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." We DO have a future, and it was one that was ordained by God, but our enemy wants to keep us locked in the past so we are unable to move forward into that future. It's a foothold that some of us are willingly giving to him! If you are giving the devil a foothold by allowing your past to affect who you are today, you are playing right into his hands. Pray that God will show you what you are holding on to & ask Him to help you let go of it. He will not let you down. He will go THROUGH it with you, and when you are able to put it behind you, you will be able to walk forward toward your freedom.

Paul teaches us in Philippians 3:12-14
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (emphasis mine) Paul had an alarming past, but through Christ he was given an amazing future!

If you are struggling with your past, the first thing you must do is acknowledge that. Once you do that, you've taken your first step toward freedom from it. Next, seek help from Christian councilors, and get support from brothers & sisters that are strong in the Lord. Do whatever you have to, because the enemy is just sitting there lurking, ready to pounce and you have to be one step ahead of him. A great starting point is by reading this article by Michael Bradley:
Letting go of your past
It is a great article with awesome helps & references.

Whatever you do, don't let the past dictate your future! Until you break free from your past, you will never experience true freedom.

God bless you as you "let go & let God"!