Letting Go of the Past God’s Way
Did you know there are many verses in the Bible that talk about letting go and that these could be applied to a wide range of situations in all our lives? One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 43:18-19 (ESV), “Remember not the former things, nor consider things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it, I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.'“
Whenever I am in a struggle to let go of something, I hold on to this verse. The Lord is constantly reminds His people not to dwell on our past. Whatever we are trying to let go of; that relationship, that addiction, that loss that was suffered, whatever it may be, if we look towards Him and mediate on His Word and promises that He will take care of whatever we are going through and will make a way for us. Jemimah 29:11 (ESV), states; “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Many people do not realize that this was spoken to the people of Israel at one of the lowest points in their history.
Most people focus on the ‘bad’ in a situation. It is part of our wiring and self-preservation to ensure that we protect ourselves from harm. However, the Lord says that if we just look towards him, we will see the new things He is doing. He wants us to open our eyes to Him. We can’t focus on what He is doing in our lives if we are not looking toward Him.
This was very true in my own life when a long-term relationship I was in suddenly came to an end. I spent a long time re-hashing the relationship in my mind, trying to figure out where it had gone wrong, why it didn’t go better, who was right and who was wrong and all the what ifs… but none of that really mattered; it was over. Then it finally occurred to me that I was wasting the precious life and time God gave me trying to work out the ‘why’ for a past event. The truth is the door on that relationship should have been shut from the beginning, it was not a safe space. I was always left wondering where I stood.
Conversely, God has never left me feeling like I don’t know where stand. I know who I am in the Lord and who He is through His word and promises. When I started to focus and read everything the Bible has to say about letting go, my life started to change. God gave me peace; He lifted the sorrow and burden of heartache and not only that but I began to see a future, a future of hope and new things happening in my life.
Once my time and energy wasn’t so consumed by the past, I was now able to operate in the present and look forward to a future. It wasn’t the world that gave that gift to me, but a beautiful and graceful gift from God.
So, I want to encourage you today, whatever it is you are going through, don’t look back to the past, don’t dwell on old things, there is nothing there for you or me. If we remember the story of Lot’s wife in Genesis 19:26, we know that nothing good comes from looking back and if we really dive deep, dwelling not the past can become disobedience, keeping us from doing what God is calling us to right now and the blessed future to come.
Train yourself to get into God’s word, soak it in and you will also see how it can transform your mind and your entire life. May God’s blessing and peace be upon you.