I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. (Amplified Bible)
The Message puts it like this:
I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
I turn to this particular verse often when I’m in goal-setting/goal-reaching mode. I tend to focus on verse 14 which says that I press toward the goal to win the prize.
Nothing wrong with that.
But what I’m discovering is that (for me) the most important part of the scripture is in verse 13 where it says that I need to forget what lies behind.
In other words, it is necessary to forget what is behind me in order to focus on what is ahead. How can I successfully navigate the road in front of me if I can’t take my eyes off the rear view mirror?
Ding! Ding! Ding!
It hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. I am impeding my own progress because my mind has a tendency to wander back to the past. I replay past events constantly and it is not serving me well at all. I have to purposefully forget the past by purposefully focusing on the future.
As the Original OldGirl LadyLee would say: do it on purpose.
I do not have to allow whatever drops into my mind to stay there. I can set my mind on the positive things that lie ahead instead of continually going back over what has already happened.
So that’s what I’m working on. Leaving the past in the past. Accepting that whatever happened, happened for a reason and just let it go. I can’t change the past. I have to forget what lies behind and work on shaping my future. I know that God has incredible things in store for me but I can’t get those things until I release the things of the past. It’s impossible to live in two worlds at the same time.
I will let go of the past.
I will enjoy the present.
I will look forward to my future.
6 comments:
I cringed a little at this- because I'm so guilty of looking to the past.
Great post. I've read it 5011 times this morning, allowing it to soak in. I told Serenity to come over and read it, as it is sort of a veiled treatise on "letting go of the baggage" ... hmm.
AMEN...thanks I needed to hear this....
dee in san diego
I think it's something you go throughin your 40s. struggling to let mess go and move forward. When you hit 50 it will be as easy and turning off the light.
Poof! It's gone. Look forward to it! LOL
Love you girl. I'm lurking....
Yes, I look to the past & think about my mistakes etc. I need to look to the future.
Thanks!
I loved this post. Very strong and important words for us to mind. I'm very guilty of doing the same. Thank you for the enlightenment.
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