New Year’s Refusals – Thursday

“…forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on…” – Philippians 3:13-14

Picture yourself 10 years ago. Fifteen years ago. If the memory makes you cringe, that’s a good sign you’re making progress. Ignore the hairstyle and the outlandish fashion (c’mon, you thought it was cool!), and look deeper. Look past the outward actions and find your motivation. Why were you doing what you were doing? Did your choices take you where you wanted to be? Are you still there? Part of being human is that we have the capacity to transform. The human heart is moldable, changeable, but subject to hurt and deception. A big part of growth is overcoming that hurt and deception. If we refuse to overcome, refuse to move on, we stop growing. Emotionally and spiritually, we’re still wearing tie-dyed bellbottoms.

Although we like the thought of reaching forward, we hit roadblocks. One of those is bitterness. Someone hurt us and we can’t get past it. We relive the moment and reopen our wound every chance we get. Low self-worth also keeps us from moving forward. We believed Satan’s lie that we’re no good, so we’re living down to it. Pride, selfishness, addiction, and lust can also keep us stuck in the past. We become convinced that since we haven’t grown past them yet, we never will. Growth starts with accepting God’s forgiveness and then forgiving ourselves. We may not forgive and forget; but we can forgive and move on.

Final Thought: 

Refuse to remain stuck in the past. Let go of it and reach forward to what God has ahead for you.

Prayer:

Father, I’ve let the hurts of my past be roadblocks to my future. I’ve stayed stuck in old thought patterns and have not allowed you to renew my mind. I choose to forget the past and reach forward with arms open wide. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

For more information about CedarPoint.Church, click here. To read Monday’s devotion, click here!