Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13, 14.
Gracious God, how sweet it is to sit in Your presence and receive from You words of life eternal. Please teach us how to enter this great “unknown” (2017) and by Your grace, become overcomers. In the matchless name of Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen.
Yesterday we laid out a plan for starting over. There were recommendations to start at the Throne of Grace, pick up some positive thoughts on our journey, pray, give thanks, and rejoice. Today we will add forgetting what is past to the plan.
But what do we want to forget? Bible commentators have suggested two category of things that we would do well to forget: guilt and gain. Today we will deal with the guilt.
Guilt is a negative emotion. Much like fear, it can paralyze you. It can make you feel that you are unworthy, thereby weakening or even destroying your ability to dream and therefore to press forward. I do not believe that guilt feelings come from God.
When we sin God’s Holy Spirit opens our eyes to our wrong doing and then helps us to get up and do the right thing. Notice how Jesus dealt with the woman taken in the very act of adultery (see John 8:1-11). While others sought to laden her with guilt, Jesus sought to fill her with hope. Guilt oppresses. Forgiveness releases. Guilt says “no use trying.” Forgiveness says “get up and try again.” Therefore, on your journey during 2017, leave behind the guilt of past mistakes, and remember that “If we confess our sins He [Jesus] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
More tomorrow.