Forget About It!

Philippians 3:13-14 KJV says “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Paul is a highly respected teacher of the Word of God and he didn’t feel like he had “arrived”. He felt like he still had much to learn. But in order to learn, to move ahead he said he had to forget what was behind him and reach forward to those things still to come, to press forward to the goals ahead.

So very often when we have had bad experiences or tough times, we can seem to get “stuck” there. I think that comes from concentrating on what happened, what you are going through. If you continue to think about, meditate on it, stew about the problems, guess what will be at the forefront in your thinking? The problem. I think about a hamster on a wheel. My daughter and her husband had a hamster several years ago. I remember watching it go around and around and around. But you know, he never really got anywhere. That’s a perfect picture of when we concentrate on the problem or what has happened to us in the past – we never really get anywhere in that area.

I know there are some really bad situations some people have gone through or are going through. I don’t mean to be flippant about it. I’ve been there. But I know for a fact that dwelling on that situation is not going to produce answers. How much better to just “forget about it!” Forget what was in the past. But don’t just try to put it out of your mind. Give it to God. Surrender the hurt, surrender the pain, surrender the memory. Roll the care of it over on Him.

Concentrate instead on how much God loves you and the plan He has for you. Jeremiah 29:11 AMPC says “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.” God doesn’t want us to be stuck in the problem, stuck in the trial. He wants us to concentrate on the good plan that He has for our life. His plan for each and everyone of us is full of His grace, His peace, His joy. Is that easy? Not always. It will take discipline. But it is worth it. You’ll get better sleep. You’ll have less stress. You will learn to trust Him more. It’s so, so worth it!

So, don’t dwell on your past – forget about it!