Hello blessed ones!
We’ve all experienced negative things in our lives and at those moments, it can be easy to feel upset, but if we keep dwelling on the past, we will miss out on the new things God wants to do in our lives. In Isaiah 61:3, we read the good news of Jesus’ ministry to us. It says,
- To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…
God has said that He’ll take what was meant for our harm and use it for our good (see Genesis 50:20). According to Romans 8:37, we are more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus.
So, if you’ve suffered from some devasting events in your past and circumstances have left you feeling frustrated, defeated, and alone, be encouraged because you’re not defined by your past. Your past can prepare you for your future. You will be stronger, more experienced, and have greater confidence because God has brought you through.
I exhort you not to carry around negative baggage year after year because when you do, you’ll contaminate your own life. Unforgiveness, bitterness and anger is like drinking poison. That poison will negatively affect you and the people around you.
Try not to get caught up in the “why’s” of life. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says,
- Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
One day, everything will be clear. If we’re always trying to figure everything out, we’ll only get frustrated. God will reveal to you exactly what He wants you to know. In Proverbs 25:2 we see,
- It is God’s priviledge to conceal things…
If we’re going to trust God, we’ll have to accept that there are things we’re not going to understand. We have to be mature enough to say, “Father, I don’t understand why this happened, but I will choose to trust You. You’re God and I’m not. I trust that Your ways are higher than mine.”
When God laid out the plan for your life, He already knew every step you would take and every obstacle you would face. The good news is that God ALWAYS causes us to triumph (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Ecclesiastes 7:8 says,
- The end of a matter is better than its beginning…
Even if you’ve had a rough start, it doesn’t mean that you’ll have a rough ending. Philippians 3:13 says,
- I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.
Paul wrote over half of the New Testament. He could have said, “I focus all my energy on being a better writer, improving my leadership skills or impacting the culture more effectively.” Instead, he says in effect that what’s more important than all of that is letting go of what lies behind.
I want to encourage you to more like Paul ~ He had been through a lot of adversities. He exhorts us in 2 Corinthians 3:8-9,
- We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…
Let’s focus our energy on moving forward. Hebrews 12:1 says,
- …Let us run with endurance the race that’s set before us…
Don’t rehearse negative things that have happened to you. Pay attention to what your mind and heart are dwelling on. Listen to what you’re saying. You only have so much emotional energy each day. When you spend your energy on negative things, that’s the energy that could be moving you forward. Jesus tells us in Mark 11:25,
- Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him [drop the issue, let it go], so that your Father Who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions and wrongdoings [against Him and others].
Let’s drop it, let it go, and move forward into the destiny God has for our lives.
Thanking God for new beginnings,
Lisa Gordon
Assistant Pastor
Jesus City Church