Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Brethren,
I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do:
forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on
toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God
in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14
I have always loved this verse. I love this verse because I have
been so encumbered by the mistakes of my past at times that I have found it difficult
to move forward. Many of us have felt that snare because this is one of Satan’s
favorite places for us. As long as we are looking back, it is impossible to press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward
call of God in Christ Jesus. He would have us stuck in shame and
regret and tangled in defeat from our past failures for our whole lives if he
could. But he does not get the last say over our lives – unless we let him.
When we become Christians, we are adopted heirs, joint heirs
with Jesus. That means that all Jesus In ancient Rome, when someone was
adopted, their old life was completely erased. There was no such thing as an
adopted son or daughter. Instantly they belonged to the couple that adopted
them as much as their biological children did. They immediately were given the
same title, status, and legal standing. All the adoptees previous history was
gone -their old family, as well as any debts.
We are His children and as His children, we never lose our
inheritance, and Satan can never take it away. What Satan can do is keep us
from living in the freedom of that inheritance. He will whisper in our ear
every day that we are not good enough, that God would never want us because of
our past mistakes, that He would never really forgive us, that we are damaged
forever, that we will never be worthy of His forgiveness and love, and He definitely
would never see us as a son or daughter. He wants us to believe that we would
never be worthy of His love, mercy, or help. He wants us to feel hopeless.
God took us, accepted us in our filth and sin and gave His
life for us, knowing that we would continue to fail Him at times because we are
human. He made us a part of His family, and in His mind, wiped away every part
of our past, exchanging it for hope, forgiveness and an eternal inheritance.
If we are going to embrace this new year and do anything
constructive, and if we are going to live the victorious life He has given us
as His heirs, then we have to forget what lies behind. If we don’t, we will be
tied down by holding on to the past. Our past mistakes and failures that we can’t
let go of will nail us down right where we are with no power to press on. This
is not God’s plan for us. His plan is for us to go for the goal. He has given us
the freedom to break away from what lies behind – and forget it!
Let it go, throw it off, cast it away, and don’t let Satan
fill your head with the lies of shame. Run with confidence into your future,
the future bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. Run in your
freedom, the freedom bestowed on you as His heir, your debt erased.
No hindrances. No chains. No lies. No Shame. Toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God
in Christ Jesus..
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with
confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time
of need. Hebrews 4:16
