NO, DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, I HAVE NOT ACHIEVED IT, BUT I FOCUS ON THIS ONE THING: FORGETTING THE PAST AND LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT LIES AHEAD
(Philippians 3:13).

I had a wonderful childhood.  I grew up on the shores of the Indian Ocean, South Africa, with good parents.  I had everything I needed.  Yet, regardless of my good circumstances, I noticed, at some point, that my heart had retained a lot of pain from my childhood.  As an adult, I often felt rejected, condemned, abandoned, and ashamed.

Maybe you also had a very good childhood with favorable circumstances.  Maybe you had a horrible past.  Maybe you had a good childhood with only one horrible experience.  Maybe some people have told you to put the past behind you…that it is time to move on.  Maybe you would like to let go of your past, BUT YOUR PAST DOES NOT WANT TO LET GO OF YOU.

HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING. HE HAS ALWAYS HATED THE TRUTH, BECAUSE THERE IS NO TRUTH IN HIM. WHEN HE LIES, IT IS CONSISTENT WITH HIS CHARACTER; FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES
(John 8:44).

Grasp that it is not the PAST that is holding on to you, but the painful BELIEFS of the past.  The father-of-lies handed these negative, destructive beliefs out whenever he found an opportunity, regardless whether your childhood circumstances were good or bad.  The circumstances were ALWAYS favorable to him. Always remember that it was not the circumstances during your childhood that caused your pain, but the LIES that came from the father-of-lies during that time: “You are not good enough. You are not loved. You do not have a voice. You are bad. Nobody wants you. Nobody delights in you. Nobody cares about you.”

Therefore, I bless you to know that if you want to forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead, you need to ask the Lord Jesus to exchange the lies of the past for His Truth.

TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, O LORD, THAT I MAY LIVE ACCORDING TO YOUR TRUTH!  GRANT ME PURITY OF HEART, SO THAT I MAY HONOR YOU
(Psalm 86:11).

Which negative, destructive beliefs of the past are holding on to you?

Embrace the pain in your heart. Expose these negative beliefs to the Lord Jesus. And let HIM exchange them for HIS TRUTH. Then, the past will lose its grip on you.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I invite you into my past and into the negative, destructive BELIEFS of my past. As I embrace the pain in my heart and expose these beliefs to You, I ask for You to come and exchange these beliefs for Your Truth, so the past may lose its grip on me and I may live my life in the present.