The Apostle Paul lived a great life in service to the Lord. Scripture teaches us that his is an example to be followed. As we read about his life and the way in which he lived for the Lord we should implement many of his practices into our own lives. Doing so will only help us to stay on the right track as we navigate this life. One such practice is choosing to forget the past and instead choose to look to the future.
Philippians 3:13 (ESV)
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
Paul of course is not saying he has completely forgotten all the sins of his past. That is something that can only hurt one’s faith as it can easily shift your view of the world and even God. You can read more about that in our article entitled “Don’t Forget Your Sins Accept Them”. But what Paul is actually saying is that he doesn’t dwell on the past. He makes a decision to not allow his past to affect his future.
Too many people, including Christians, keep tripping up in life because they spend all their time looking behind them. It’s important to realize that the past can’t be changed. What has happened has happened and that is what it will be. However, if we make the decision like Paul to forget the past and look to the future we can cause change to take place in our lives. It is impossible to change who you once were but you can change who you will be. Let go of the past life and focus on your new life in Christ. Becoming the new creation described in scripture.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Ephesians 4:22–24 (ESV)
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Many believe because of all they did before coming to the Lord that God can’t use them, doesn’t love them, or will easily cast them away. But that isn’t true at all. When we were saved God removed every shortcoming, sin, fault, and failure from our record. All our sins were cast as far as the east is from the west and we stand before the Lord washed clean. God isn’t concerned with our past but with our future and we shouldn’t be either.
Isaiah 43:25 (ESV)
25 “I, I am he
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.
Colossians 2:14 (ESV)
14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Psalm 103:12 (ESV)
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
1 John 1:9 (ESV)
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
For most, if not all of us looking back over our past can be depressing. Bringing up old hurts and tears that can easily send us down a rough road. But as people of God, we have something better to fix our gaze on. Better days are on the horizon for all those who believe and are saved. Instead of focusing on the dark days that lay in our wake, we can look forward to the bright days that lie ahead. Day of eternal peace, joy, and love. Spent with our creator in the place He has prepared for us.
Revelation 21:4 (ESV)
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
John 14:2–3 (ESV)
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
When you look at Paul’s life it can be hard to understand how he held such strong faith while facing extreme persecution. He was once stoned for sharing the gospel. Beaten on multiple occasions. Jailed time after time. Yet facing all that and more he never wavered or questioned God. In fact, he never even lost his praise but would still sing out to God while lying on a cold damp floor chained to others with fresh wounds from a whip on his back.
2 Corinthians 11:23–25 (ESV)
23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;
Acts 16:23–25 (ESV)
23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
How was he able to keep his faith through it all? I believe it was because he made one of his primary daily concerns to forget the past putting everything behind him. Choosing instead to look to the future where he could effect change in his own life and the lives of others. Finding peace and hope by looking past everything around him to the days promised to him and all believers in God’s word. Knowing that his present suffering would compare nothing to the future glory he was going to receive.
Romans 8:18 (ESV)
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Forgetting your past is not an easy thing to do or something that can be done overnight. Our pasts carry a lot of weight and can easily suck us back in. But that is why Paul says he is forgetting the past and not that he has forgotten it. We must start every day forgetting our past and looking to the future. It is a decision that we make each and every morning. Pushing forward with our eyes fixed on the Lord.
Don’t allow your past to define you or determine the outcome of your future any longer. Instead, follow the example Paul provides us in the scripture. Leave what is in the past behind you and instead look to your future. Focus on the changes you can make as you counting to move forward. While looking towards the great things the Lord has in store you with eager expectation. When you make the decision to start forgetting the past and looking to the future your faith will begin to grow too. Allowing you to walk through anything with the same resolve as the Apostle Paul.
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