Letting Go of the Past

Grace for All

Do Not Fear

(Our Theme for June)

Philippians 12b-14 (NIV)

“I press on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, 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.”

As a pastor, I found myself spending much of my time working with people who were struggling with destructive baggage from their past. They were continuing to allow the past to unduly influence their present and future. We all are tempted to spend our time and energy on done deals.

I think of the poem by Louise Fletcher Tarkington:

I wish there were some wonderful place

Called the land of beginning again.

Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches

And all our poor selfish grief

Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door

And never put on again.

Wouldn’t that be wonderful? A place where all of my mistakes and failures and sins are erased. A place where heartaches no longer hurt. Where the burden of grief is lifted. Where my selfishness has ended and I can start over as a good and decent and caring person.

The good news is that Jesus is not just Lord of today and tomorrow, he is Lord of our yesterdays. For many years I had a rock on my desk on which was written: Don’t stumble over something behind you. It’s easy to do. A lost relationship. A word spoken in anger. Sins. What someone did to us. What we did to ourselves.

In our scripture passage the apostle Paul describes life as the running of a race. He says that in order to win the prize it is necessary to forget what is behind. Is there some weight from your past you are still carrying? Drop it like a shabby old coat at the door. Give God your yesterdays so that you can give Him today and tomorrow and forever.

Dear Lord Jesus, I release to you my past: failures, successes, joys, sorrows. I will no longer stumble over what is gone. In the name of the one who nailed my sins to the tree. Amen.

Today’s devotional was written and recorded by Herb Sadler.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.