Haunted by the Past

Philippians 3:12-14 "I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.  No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."


I was reminded of a message I preached some time ago about people who are haunted by their past.  Past mistakes...past failures...past hurts...past disappointments...past "insert noun here".  In that message I referred to the account in Genesis 19 where God had vowed to destroy the city of Sodom because of its evil ways.  In His mercy, God had promised that a godly man named Lot and his family would escape the judgement.  They were simply instructed to leave the city and, very specifically, not look back.  The evil and destruction that was to come upon the city were to be put behind Lot and his family.  It was to be left in their past.


However, Lot's wife was unable to resist the temptation to look back and, as the Bible depicts, she was turned into a pillar of salt.  She, too, was destroyed.  You could say that her demise was caused by her looking back into her past.


What conclusions can we draw from this?  A very simple truth.  There is nothing in your past that can help you.  Focusing on past hurts and disappointments and failures can only lead one to destruction.  The way I like to put it...focusing on one's past brings it back into the present and affects the future.  


Perhaps you have been hurt by a close friend or family member...disappointed by a circumstance or situation...disillusioned by past failures and mistakes...Paul's words of encouragement are for you.  Ask God to separate you from your past.  Resist the temptation to look back.  Focus on God who is your future.  Keep your eyes on Him and allow Him to rescue you from the destruction of your past.