You’ve failed. So have I. And it can be difficult when you’re around people who treat you in ways based on their memory of your failures, even while disregarding your attempts or desires to make things right. It can be hard to overcome a past when you’re constantly remembering it, or being reminded of it.
Certainly there are things we should remember. We should not forget the blessings of the Lord. But there are some things we should, indeed, forget.
In Philippians 3, Paul said there was one thing he was going to do: forget and reach forward.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:13-14
No one runs a race well while looking behind. If there’s one thing to do, it’s to stay focused on the goal of serving and pleasing our Lord Jesus Christ. You may encourage yourself with past victories, but don’t revel in them. You may regret past failures, but don’t dredge them up again. If you’ve never made some things right, then do that. Don’t simply forget things that have never been corrected. But if you have repented, it’s been washed away by the precious Blood of Christ. You’re still in a race. Don’t look behind. Keep your eyes on the goal. Reach forward, and let God use you for His glory.
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