Leave the Past in the Past

2 Dec

 

For most things I have a memory like Swiss cheese. Names, dates, faces, they just don’t stick. But there is one thing I’m good at remembering – my past mistakes. Those I cling to, storing them carefully away, only to take them out and let them gnaw at my peace of mind, make me question my faith, disturb my sleep.

In Hebrews 8:12 God promises, “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” He In fact, He says, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalms 103:12. He promise to “hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19.

We had a dog once who could dive underwater. One time he came up from the bottom of the stream with a rotted, dead fish, in his mouth. My wife screamed, “Eww! Put that back! That’s disgusting!

God must feel that way sometimes. He’s buried my sins in the depths of the sea, but I insist on throwing in a line and dragging them back to the surface, so I can gnaw on them a little more. When I do this I can almost hear God saying, “Put that back! That’s disgusting!”

When it comes to my past mistakes and sins I need a little holy amnesia. I need to believe God when He said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

The past is in the past. We can’t do anything about it. We need to leave it where it lies. We need to follow Paul’s example and, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13 and 14.

This morning, stop dragging your past mistakes up from the depths. God’s forgotten them. So should you. Let the past in the past! God’s got a beautiful future in store for you. So, today, put down your fishing pole, take up your cross, and press on!