“Forgetting what is behind.”

A thought by John Ortberg, (2015-02-24) from his book. All the Places to Go . . . How Will You Know?: God Has Placed beforeYou an Open Door.  What Will You Do?   (p. 238). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

But that can be such a difficult thing to do, can’t it?  The Apostle Paul in his letter in the New Testament, the one he wrote to his friends at Philippi said exactly that.  He said, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal.” (Philippians 3: 13-14 {NIV}).  So what is it that I need to forget?

John said, “One of the great tasks of the spiritual life is learning what to remember and what to forget. I am to forget ‘what is behind.’ My guilt, my inadequacy, my weakness, my regrets. ‘I know you have little strength,’ God says.”

What would happen in your life if instead of rehearsing all of that bad stuff you would start releasing it to God?  Instead of dwelling on it and talking about it all of the time you would just let God have it.  Here God.  That thing that that person did to me.  It really hurt me but it is not worth remembering.  I’m going to release what they did to me and give it to You, God to take care of.  It is now yours.  It is now your problem, not mine.  And what I’m going to do is to remember to press on but in your power.

John also says, “If I use willpower to try to make myself not envy, or compare, or dislike, it does little good. But there is another way. In the middle of a wonderful passage to the Philippians where Paul writes about having minds that are liberated from anxiety and occupied with joy and whatever is true and honorable and just and worthy of praise, he makes this wonderful promise: ‘And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 4: 7).”

Now isn't that a whole lot better?