Past, Present, Future

Did you know you are amazing?! Do you still have things you need to work on? Of course! But you need to take time to celebrate what God has already done on the inside of you.

Sometimes we're always looking behind at what we have done and that's not healthy. But other times we're always looking ahead, and we forget all the wonderful things that God has already done in our lives, our hearts, relationships, etc. It can be a challenge to live in the present.

It doesn't mean that you don't have goals for the future. And it doesn't mean that you don't look back and see where you can learn from your mistakes and where to celebrate the goodness of God that you've already seen. It just means not letting the past or the future be your focus.

Where do your thoughts go? Try to keep them focused on God and His Word, not what you are feeling at the moment because of the past or the future. Bringing every thought captive to Christ is a constant challenge. There are so many voices around you! Circumstances, as well as your past and the future, try to tell you what you are desiring will never happen. Most of the time though that conflicts with what God says in His Word about you. You get to decide which one you're going to believe.

I remember a time quite a while ago when I was really struggling with this. I was trying to believe that God could love someone like me. I knew my shortcomings, my failures, what I wanted to be and how far I felt like I was from that. Those thoughts still come now and then, but I'm learning to not dwell on them as much. I can't change the past. The only way I'm going to change the future is to allow God to change me.

Jeremiah 29:11 says that God has a really good plan for you and for me. A good plan isn’t defeat, despair, depression, etc. That doesn't mean that those thoughts or those moments won’t come, I just choose not to live there. But it is a choice. A choice that you have to make constantly. Sometimes every minute, sometimes every hour. Hopefully less and less often as you grow in the Lord.

I used to really get down on myself when those past feelings of disappointment in myself or discouragement would come. I would feel like why am I back here? What am I doing wrong? But chances are, you're not doing anything wrong. It's just life! So, keep walking. Keep believing. Keep trusting that God is working in you, for you, with you, and through you. Because that's what He does.