No Future In The Past

A good pastor friend of mine, once spoke this in a Sunday sermon. He encouraged us that there is no future in the past. What he was having us understand is that dwelling on anything negative from our past should have nothing to do with our future. When we come to the Lord, He will cast our past into a distant memory. He is concerned only for our present and our future. He will never throw our past up to us like Satan can and will. Now I’m not saying to ignore our past, as it is a part of us, yet don’t be tied to it. We are all different than we were, say five, ten, or even twenty years ago. Our past is part of our make-up, and it is what has molded and shaped us. As we grow in Christ, by being with Him, and His people, we also grow as individuals. We mature, we forgive, we ask for forgiveness, and we move on.

For the past number of months, I have been involved in a project with friends from my past. I never thought that it would happen, but I believe that God put it in motion. My friends and I had a falling out over silly things, and for many years that human error kept us from being in each other’s lives. One person reached out and before we knew it, a fence that was damaged, and broken, was repaired. Personally I felt a great weight being lifted off my shoulders. A lot can be accomplished when an apology is offered, even when we’re not sure if it will be accepted. The result is that we have rekindled a more mature friendship, at a time in our lives when it was truly needed. Do we know why, or the purpose for this particular time? No we don’t, but God does. He has a plan, and part of that plan is to have the past be buried. He’s given my friends and me the gift of the present and our reunion project. He is now planning what will be our future friendship, free of any baggage from yesterday.

God’s hope for all of us is the same. If you have a past that’s not perfect, then you are in good company. Leave it there. Ask Jesus into your life, and come expecting, as He will show you a future you could never imagine.

Mike Shindruk

www.mastershandministry.blogspot.ca