LIVING IN THE PAST

I was challenged recently by something I read from Our Daily Bread devotional. The words that caught my attention were "It's been said that each life is like a book, lived one chapter at a time. If you think that your most fruitful years are behind you, remember you are writing a new chapter now. Learn to live each day with contentment in the present." I believe this problem of living in the past is quite common to a lot of people, especially when they reach the "senior years".

The scriptures are full of advice to us on not dwelling on the past, but looking to the future. Paul's letter to the Philippians comes to mind whenever I think along these lines. His exhortation in chapter 2 is probably quoted by more people on New Years Eve, than any other! (Phil 2:12-16). He speaks of forgetting the past, and focusing on what lies ahead of us. He uses the expression "press on to reach the end of the race" in verse 14, and then in 16 in my translation, it reads "But we must hold on to the progress we have already made". That is excellent advice to all of us , in my opinion, no matter what age you happen to be. We have all made progress in our spiritual walk, although some times when we go through a "dry spell", we may doubt it!

I have found that every few months we need to get alone with God in some quiet place, maybe out in the deep woods, and just review your life since you received Jesus as your personal Savior. Just be honest with Him, and ask Him to show you how far you have come in your spiritual walk. It might surprise you the things that will come to your mind! Most of us tend to be quite hard on ourselves, and of course we have an enemy whose job is to accuse us of all the negative things we have ever done. Right? Read (1 Peter 5:6-11) as often as necessary to remind ourselves how we should deal with him! Remember Jesus defeated him on the cross, and the only power he has left now is the power to deceive. He is a liar and the father of all lies, and is behind all the deception we see in our world today.

So let's keep our eyes on Jesus and press on to whatever lies ahead for us, as we write a new chapter in our book of life. Remember these words that were used to finish off that devotional I mentioned at the start. "Living in the past paralyzes the present and bankrupts the future!"

Sincerely submitted.

Grasmp