When to forget
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13–14 ESV)
Some things need to be left behind
There are many things the Bible tells us to remember—God’s goodness, His Word, His promises, and what He has done for us. But there are also things we need to forget.
Paul understood this. His past included things he deeply regretted. Before becoming a follower of Christ, he persecuted Christians and even approved of their imprisonment and death. Yet Paul did not allow his past to keep him from moving forward. He said, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal.”
We cannot change yesterday, but by God’s grace, yesterday does not have to control today.
Forget the sins of others
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph. 4:32 ESV)
When someone hurts you, forgiveness does not mean pretending it never happened. It means refusing to keep holding the offense against that person. If God has forgiven us so completely, we should extend forgiveness to others.
“For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” (Heb. 8:12 ESV)
God does not continually bring our forgiven sins back before us. We should be careful not to continually bring up the forgiven sins of others either.
Forget your old ways of sin
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.” (Isa. 43:18 ESV)
When God saves you, He gives you a new life. Your past may be part of your story, but it no longer has to define who you are.
“As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12 ESV)
If God has removed your sins that far away, why keep dragging them back?
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17 ESV)
You are not called to spend your life looking backward. God has new things ahead.
“Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 9:62 ESV)
Stop living under yesterday’s condemnation
Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is yourself. You may know that God has forgiven you, yet continue replaying old failures, mistakes, and sins in your mind.
When those thoughts return, remind yourself of what God says rather than what your feelings say. Confess what needs to be confessed, learn what needs to be learned, make things right where possible—and then move forward.
Do not allow something God has forgiven to become a prison you continue living in.
Therefore
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1 ESV)
God does not want you chained to yesterday. Leave behind the sins that have been forgiven, the failures that cannot be changed, and the offenses you have chosen to forgive. Then, like Paul, strain forward to what lies ahead.
“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (Isa. 43:25 ESV)
Quotes:
“You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.” — Johnny Cash
“We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.” — Rick Warren