Closer to the Other Side (#332 of 365+)

“I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12)

Yesterday I prayed for the Lord to make me more heaven-hearted. Well, it
seems he’s telling me that if I want to fully embrace the future I should release the past.

I need to stop saving all my tears and regrets in a memory box in the back of my mind. I also need to release my death grip on offenses. My past may be filled with painful memories—some from childhood and others sprinkled throughout my teen and adult years—but it was God’s will for those combined experiences to form the unique individual I eventually became.

The past wasn’t all bad. My salvation experience was over twenty years ago and if it wasn’t for that day I wouldn’t have had the hope of heaven or a future with the Lord to cling to for all these years. I haven’t lived a perfect life but I know the grace and mercy of a holy God. I’m not the same person I was twenty years ago or even twenty days ago but neither am I the whole person I’ll be when I receive my new, resurrected, glorified body (1 Corinthians 15:42) and enjoy the presence of God for eternity.

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” (Philippians 3:13)

I loved what Joni said about the past and her memories: “There is less distance between me and the future than me and the past, before I was injured. I have come to the place where a memory can push me joyfully into the future rather than pull me somberly back into a sad past.”

Lord, I want to be free from everything in my past that tries to weigh me down. May painful memories only propel me into your arms where I can find healing. Help me to live a life of love, grace, and praise... starting now. Amen.