Forget the hurts of the past

"Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead."     Philippians 3:13    NLT 

We all have memories; some are good and some bad. It is nice to have happy memories - the kids growing up, where you met your partner and the happy childhood you had. For some people however, their memories are not so good, they may have suffered abuse, a broken, painful marriage or the loss of someone very precious. We all have memories but not a single one of them can be changed.

Jesus told His disciples not to look back (Luke 9:62). Memories, especially bad ones can hold us back and in captivity. For many who have hurtful memories of the past, they have had to survive and overcome them to be able to exist. They may have built defence mechanisms to be able to cope and they may have made inner vows that no one else would hurt them in the future, they would trust nobody. But this is not the answer.

As Christians, we are called to forgive and not dwell on these hurts. They are in the past. We have a choice, we can either mourn these things or put them behind us and move forward. You may ask how, because this is not easy? That is true but, for your health's sake, it needs to be done. When you forgive someone, the hurt doesn't just disappear; not at all. However, the hurtful load is given to Jesus who carries you through the healing process. It may be an ongoing process for some but many people have made the effort and managed it.

Past abuse is difficult to forget, however, it needs to be left behind. There is nothing anyone else can do to take this awful period away from you. It has to start with you, it is a choice that you make - keep it and take it with you or make the decision to leave it behind and look forward to what's ahead. God declares in Isaiah 43:18-19 'But forget all that - it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. 19 For I am about to do something new New Living Translation.' This means, as we give to Jesus all the hurts of the past, He will take them from us and help us, step by step, little by little to be able to cope and find a new way forward.

When you think about it, the hurt happened, it can't be changed but, the future can and Jesus is the answer, He will create a new day for you, so why not allow Him to help you forget the hurts of the past.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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