“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.” (Philippians 4:13-14) Paul says that the first step in pressing forward is forgetting what is behind.

  Why? Because It’s hard to move forward when you keep the past in the present. Jesus told the man, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Leave your past behind! You can’t walk into the future God has for you while holding on to the past!

  Sometimes our past is filled with some Huge Hurts

  You may have been physically or emotionally abused! You may have gone through a heartbreaking divorce! You may have made a serious mistake and hurt someone! You may have lost a loved one in a tragic accident! A child may have been taken from you too soon!

  Maybe you’ve been rejected, tossed to the curb! Your love has been spurned! Been betrayed by a spouse, a friend! Abandoned by a friend! Dishonored and disrespected by a child! Misled by a minister! Hurt by the Church!

  These things are dead weight that is weighing you down and holding you back! Dead things that need to be buried! Burying the dead is not an easy task but if they’re not buried they will rot and stink up your life! And don’t keep going back to the grave to visit your dead! Once these things are buried, walk away and never look back. Your past, like an unseen ghost can come back to haunt you. The enemy will use your past to fill your life with guilt, defeat and misery if you don’t let it go!

  How do you let go you may ask? By forgiving those who hurt you and forgiving yourself for hurting others! By giving up the ghosts (the dead) and letting Jesus have them! “ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

  And by all means, have fun doing it. Be playful, cheerful and positive. Live! Laugh! Love! Live your life like’s there’s no tomorrow! Laugh every day! Love yourself, love others and love this life. And don’t forget to dance every chance you get! I’m so glad Abba gave me a sense of humor, weird and quirky as it is!   Lfe is a gift to unwrap each and every day, to gaze upon with new and excited eyes. And today is a gift from God, don’t waste it by hanging on to yesterday!

In His love,
Elizabeth