I focus on one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. Phil.3:13b
I came across this scripture a couple days ago and I can't seem to let it go. Imagine if we simply let the past be in the past and looked forward to what lies ahead. This is not an easy thing to do. I am facing something right now that I am having a really hard time "forgetting". All I want to do is forget and look forward to what lies ahead but I am struggling to forget.
I don't think we ever truly forget the past in the way that we might forget the family vacation we took when we were 6. This scripture is talking about focus. Where is the focus of our attention, our thoughts and our energy? Is it on what lies ahead or is it stuck in the past?
When I think about what lies ahead I am filled with excitement and wonder at the possibilities of God and my future and that is where I want to place my energy. But I get the idea from Paul’s wording that it’s not an easy thing. It’s requires a focus. For Paul said I focus on one thing. It takes real focus to be able forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead. Some circumstances will require more work than others to forget.
When it comes to painful things in our past there is a process to forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. Don’t focus on the past but look forward to what lies ahead. I don’t think that we ever forget our past as though it never happened, in fact our past when surrendered to God is a part of our story, a part of how God’s story and our story come together. We may never forget the things that have happened to us in the past but when we are healed from our past we forget the pain that the past has caused us.
One thing I know today is if I can focus on what lies ahead then I would not be so consumed with what happened yesterday and that where I want to be.
Do you find it hard to forget the past and focus on what lies ahead?
There are some areas in which I find it difficult (not impossible) to forget the past. I mean – forget no – but put it behind me that works – eventually. Some things you can never forget. But the things I usually focus on are instances in which I’ve hurt others and not the other way around – like if I would have known Christ sooner, would I have been a better mother … those types of things.