Living Unstuck

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The past is in the past, or is it?  I’ve often struggled with this line of thinking, because, personally, I struggle with letting things go.

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. Philippians 3:13

I believe two things happen when we look to the past.  We either marvel at our accomplishments, or we dwell on the mistakes.  Neither is good because often times we become stuck in the past.  We fear moving forward because of the mistakes we’ve made in the past, or we fear moving forward because we might not achieve the success we did in the past.

I believe what Paul is saying is that we are not to focus so much on the past that we miss what God has in store for the future.  It’s important to remember and reflect—especially on the great mercy and grace God has shown to us.  But the key is to not become so focused on the past that we get stuck there.

Picture in your mind that you are driving down the street, but instead of looking out the window ahead of you, you are looking in the rearview mirror for the whole drive?  Yikes!  Remind me not to drive when you are on the road. Seriously though, would any mature drive do such a thing?  No way!  We would miss what was going on ahead of us.  And missing what’s happening ahead could be disastrous.

Friends, as we start 2013, I believe Paul has some very important advice in these scriptures.  He does not want us to be so self-focused that we miss what God is doing around us.  Isn’t that what being stuck in the past is really about—selfishness?   When our focus is on ourselves it is off of God.  Moving forward means looking ahead and trusting that God holds our future.

I find great comfort in knowing and claiming that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  He is the God that reached into my past and gently moved me into the present.  And He is the same God that will walk with me into the future and show me the way.

It’s time to live unstuck.