Don’t Live in the Past!
Author
Miriam Carrasquillo
Summary: Let us not live bound to the past or repeat the disobedience of Lot’s wife, who looked back and lost her blessing. God no longer remembers our sins, so neither should we allow memories of them to torment us, hinder our present, or limit our future. Let us cast off that burden and move patiently toward what lies ahead. God can restore the years that were lost, and He has thoughts of peace and a future filled with blessings for us and our loved ones. In Christ, we are new creations: the old has passed away. From this day forward, let us walk with our heads held high, attentive to His promises and trusting fully in the Lord.
Lot’s wife lost her blessing because of a moment of weakness, perhaps out of melancholy or love for what she was leaving behind in her past. Lot and his family were warned as they left Sodom and Gomorrah not to look back. That was precisely what his wife did. For one reason or another, Lot’s wife disobeyed, and she paid dearly for her disobedience.
The Lord does not want us to live remembering the past, looking at what we left behind, as Lot’s wife did. He wants us, if necessary, to forget the past completely and look toward our future, always trusting that God has a better future in store for us.
God has already forgotten what you were before you knew Him; do the same yourself. He says in His Word: "I will never again remember your sins and iniquities" (Hebrews 10:17). You have blessings to receive; do not allow the enemy to keep tormenting you by reminding you of your past sins. God has already cast them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19).
These memories may be interfering with or hindering your present and, worse still, your future. God has wonderful plans for you, but you must take hold of what is taking hold of you—the memories of the past—and cast them completely into oblivion. The Apostle Paul says in Hebrews 12:1, "...let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that lies before us." We must forget the things that belong to the past and pursue the things that await us.
God will restore the years you lost (Joel 2:25); you have a future full of blessings for you and your loved ones. In Jeremiah 29:11, the Lord tells you: For I know the thoughts that I have toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you the future you hope for.
Seize your future blessings; think about your future. You have been a new creation ever since you received the Lord into your heart. The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). From this day forward, walk with your head held high, looking toward the future and toward the promises God has made to you. Trust in the Lord, and He will act (Psalms 37:5).