Get Over It
Do you remember the adage about eating an elephant? You eat it one bite at a time! A simple concept, but one we seem to have a problem applying to our everyday lives. Sometimes we are tempted to look at our lives as one big event. That view can be overwhelming. When we look at our lives like that we can find ourselves focused on the things we did not do so well. However, God measures success very differently. His version starts when we meet Him. He covers all the rest with the blood of Jesus. Paul wrote this in Philippians 3:13-14:
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Now Paul was a guy with a past. He probably would not have been the one we would have picked to write so many books in the Bible. In Acts 9 we are told the story of how Saul became Paul. Saul was a man who threatened and killed Christians. Wow, what a peach! However, his life was radically changed when he came in direct contact with God. In one day, Saul became Paul. Just a few days later, after he recovered his sight, Paul was preaching the gospel. He did not waste time dwelling on his past. He heard the word of the Lord, and he did as instructed. God redeemed Paul. From God's perspective, it really was simple. God wanted Saul to cease persecuting and killing Christians. God needed someone to preach the gospel. He picked Saul. God enrolled him in the ultimate anger management program! God changed his name and his life in one encounter.
Do not complicate things. When you received Jesus your past became ancient history. It is not even worth considering anymore. If God doesn't go there, neither should you. Get over it! Look straight ahead and walk the path God has prepared for you. There is nothing that the blood of Jesus does not have the power to obliterate. If someone is reminding you about your past, well, that is not God. It is that simple! Elephants are known for their long-term memory and so are some of your relatives, but Jesus has set you free! In fact, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that you are a NEW creation. One that never existed before. That is how you became separated from your sin! Do not listen to any voice that tries to measure your present by your past. Just listen to God and be the person He has made you to be.
It really is that simple, but simple does not necessarily equate with easy.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Now Paul was a guy with a past. He probably would not have been the one we would have picked to write so many books in the Bible. In Acts 9 we are told the story of how Saul became Paul. Saul was a man who threatened and killed Christians. Wow, what a peach! However, his life was radically changed when he came in direct contact with God. In one day, Saul became Paul. Just a few days later, after he recovered his sight, Paul was preaching the gospel. He did not waste time dwelling on his past. He heard the word of the Lord, and he did as instructed. God redeemed Paul. From God's perspective, it really was simple. God wanted Saul to cease persecuting and killing Christians. God needed someone to preach the gospel. He picked Saul. God enrolled him in the ultimate anger management program! God changed his name and his life in one encounter.
Do not complicate things. When you received Jesus your past became ancient history. It is not even worth considering anymore. If God doesn't go there, neither should you. Get over it! Look straight ahead and walk the path God has prepared for you. There is nothing that the blood of Jesus does not have the power to obliterate. If someone is reminding you about your past, well, that is not God. It is that simple! Elephants are known for their long-term memory and so are some of your relatives, but Jesus has set you free! In fact, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that you are a NEW creation. One that never existed before. That is how you became separated from your sin! Do not listen to any voice that tries to measure your present by your past. Just listen to God and be the person He has made you to be.
It really is that simple, but simple does not necessarily equate with easy.
Recent
Archive
2024
2023
No Comments