Don't Lose Your Sight in the Rear-view Mirror

You're probably wondering what I mean by the title of this post, "Don't Lose Your Sight in the Rear-view Mirror". Let me explain...When you are driving along in your vehicle, what is more effective; looking AHEAD at what's in front of you or looking in your rear-view mirror at what is BEHIND you? I think the majority of you will answer the correct choice of looking ahead at what's in front of you. Although, the things behind you are important, you should never allow them to take your eyes off what lies ahead of you (for an extended period of time). Now, let's apply this to our lives: don't become solely focused on past occurrences (what is traveling BEHIND you), so that you may concentrate on what is facing you (in your future).

I personally have struggled with letting go of things in my past; whether it being past relationships, sports, cars, etc. It is something that each and every one of us have had to deal with and/or ARE dealing with. I believe that Satan uses our past pessimistically, in order to stray us off the path that God wants us to take, that leads us to a life of righteousness. Maybe you don't necessarily MISS a particular event/time in your past; maybe there is something that you are ashamed of. Satan also uses these types of events to restrict us from letting go of it all; restricting us from letting the blood that Jesus Christ shed for the sin of ALL humanity do what God intended for it to do: CLEANSE us.

If you, like myself, have struggled and/or are struggling with this; I greatly encourage you to put your PAST behind you, where it belongs. I also encourage you to spend time in the Word of God, and to also check out a book titled, "Chasing Daylight", by Erwin Raphael McManus. Here is an excerpt from this book, that sparked me to even write this post:

 "One moment in the past continues to haunt every moment of your life. A moment in your history that steals from you all the moments in the future. Is there a moment you keep reliving again and again? To relive the past is to relinquish the future. If you are willing to let go of the past, then you are ready to step into the future. When you choose to remain stuck in a moment, you become incapable of seizing divine moments."

I will end this post with encouraging verses from Scripture: 
 

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 3: 12-14