Do Not Let Your Past Dictate Your Future

God’s will is for you to be blessed in every area of your life. You are not here by accident; you are here because there’s a destiny that we must fulfill. Never let success destroy you or change who you really are in Christ Jesus.

Paul said, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ.” Jesus.   Philippians 3:13-14 NIV

Paul was a man, that having met the Lord Jesus on his Damascus Road, set his face as a flint, to press on for the high calling of God, in Christ Jesus.

The Apostle Paul was focused on the race, the goal, the finish line. Like an Olympian runner, he would not look back at his failures. Now, remember, Paul was Saul who persecuted the church violently. He played a part in the stoning of Stephen and he could have let guilt and shame cripple him for that. But Paul forgot the past. He did not dwell on his sufferings, beatings, shipwrecks, and imprisonment. He looked forward resolutely toward the finish line where he would see the face of Jesus Christ.

Paul said, in Hebrews 12:1-2, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (NIV)

Remember in Romans 8:37 tells us that “in all things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus our Lord.” You not only a conqueror, you are more than a conqueror through him who loved us.

Paul knew that God alone was the source of his salvation as well as the source of his spiritual growth. The closer we get to completion, the more we realize how much further we must go to become like Christ.

“I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Bretheren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:12-14

So, be encouraged by Paul’s emphasis here on forgetting the past and straining forward to what lies ahead. Do not let yesterday’s failures derail you from the goal of your upward call. Press on for the prize until you meet the Lord Jesus at the finish line.

Friend, whatever you are facing if you focus on the circumstances, the circumstances will overwhelm you. They will overpower you. They will swallow you up. Jesus invites you to come to Him during risky situations. He asks you to step out in faith. But He gives you success only when you keep your eyes focused on Him. You will become consumed by your circumstances if you choose to focus on them. Like Peter, you will sink. But if you choose to return your gaze to Jesus as Peter did, He can lift you back up, so you are above the stormy sea once again. Remember, Jesus had not moved when Peter started to sink. Peter’s focus moved. Only when Peter adjusted his focus back on Jesus did he receive the divine intervention he desperately needed. Keep your focus. He is Jesus!

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