Philippians 3:13.
Anxiety, that old foe, seems to be the adversary I most often combat. Selfish acts, untimely words spoken, and the under appreciation of family and friends all send my mind reeling and pronouncing harsh judgments against myself. This aim at self made perfection seems to do me no good.
For those like me, there is hope in this verse. Paul says that it was his discipline to forget what lay behind. Oh, how I’ve wanted sweet release in my mind from past mistakes, and here is the permission to let them go. It’s a simple fact that we cannot change what we’ve done in the past. What matters most now is our present identity.
Dear reader, are you in Christ? There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Do you feel as if you lack something? In Christ, all things belong to you. Are you worried about the acceptance of others? You already have His love, which He passionately displayed as He took up the cross on your behalf.
All these are ours presently, with glory still yet to come! Dear reader, forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead in Christ.
God, grow us in the spiritual disciplines of forgetting the past and looking forward to what You’ve promised us forever. Amen.
-from our Associate Director of Church Partnerships