Living With The Past, Present And Future

How to live with the past, present and future withForgiveness, Passion And Faith We live in a temporal world, where today is different from yesterday and tomorrow will be different from today. This means we all have past, present and future aspects to our lives all the time. So, what should be the Christian’s attitude towards the past, the present and the future? Leave The Past
Most of us have some old things in our life that we want to keep - some things of heritage, of value - a piece of antique furniture, a family Bible, some jewelry handed down from grandmother to mother to daughter. Or it might be an old picture, some old tools or an old car which can be restored and given new life. Although there are some things from our past that have value, there are other things from our past that we should get rid of. These are things we regret and would like to forget, such as a hurtful word or deed, a wrong relationship, or a poor decision. We think, “I shouldn’t have done that” or “I shouldn’t have said that” or “I shouldn’t have gone there.” We can allow our past to come in and hurt others by bringing up things in a spiteful or argumentative way. So, how do we get rid of these things? For Christians, the past is gone: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17 NIV). We have asked God to forgive these things in our life; and we know that God has forgiven and forgotten. But how many of us, even though we have been forgiven, hang onto these things and continue to remember them? While we hang onto them they only get in the way and become more hurtful; they crowd out the new things that should be coming in. We have only a certain capacity: the more time and energy we spend living in or dwelling upon the past, the less we will have for the new things. God says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past” (Isa. 43:18). The past is gone and should be forgotten. Since God has forgotten about them, we should also put them away. God desires to do new and exciting things in your life: “See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isa. 43:19). If you are not careful, you will miss the new things God wants for you. It is easy to go on day-by-day dwelling in the past, missing the new things. Are you experiencing new things in your life? That is what God has promised you. Paul forgot the past and looked forward to the future: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on” (Phil. 3:13-14). Don’t be stuck in the past, always looking back like Lot’s wife. It can kill you! (Gen. 19:26). God has exciting new things He wants to do in your life. You need to allow Him to work. Is there anything in your life that is hindering Him? God can also do new exciting things in the lives of couples and families. As your children grow and mature, you will need to forget some things of the past, while concentrating on the present and looking forward to the future. Any parent of grown children can surely verify this! God also wants to do new and exciting things in the local church. We have to put away the past difficulties and move on. We have to let go of the hurts and forget any painful memories. New and different ways of doing things can bring new life to a local church. We should examine our traditions. Are we hanging onto them only because we do not want to change? Is there something we can let go of that will let God do a new thing? Remember, He desires to do new things. What is holding back the local church from expanding and becoming relevant to our young, to the people living in our area? Remember the message of Isaiah 43:18-19: “Do not dwell in the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” Let’s not miss out on the new and exciting things God wants to do among us. God is saying, “If you will come to Me and confess the things in your past that you are ashamed of, that are hurting or hindering others, and put them away, then I can do new and exciting things in your life as an individual, as a couple, as a family and as a local church.” Is the past stopping us from having a thriving relationship with God? Is it smothering our relationship with Him - and with each other? Live In The Present
How differently would you spend today, if it were the last day of your life? The Bible says your life is “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (Jas. 4:13-15). The Bible also says, you are here today, but tomorrow you die. If you don’t realize this you are a fool (Lk. 12:13-21). The only moment you can guarantee is the one right now. Some people die young in tragic accidents. Others have heart attacks in mid-life. There are no guarantees for tomorrow. We should live each day with a passion for what God wants us to do, where He wants us to go, and what He wants us to be. If you are not living the way God wants you to live, you cannot be very passionate about anything, because you are not happy. How much more exciting it would be if you got rid of the past - the things that are hindering you - and got into a position where God can do new and exciting things in your life. Can you say you are doing exactly what God wants you to do? Each moment of your life should be committed to Christ. Matthew 6:11 says, “Give us today our daily bread,” not “tomorrow” or “yesterday.” God provides for us today, for this moment, because this is the moment that is guaranteed. God wants us to continually rely on Him - moment by moment. Although God had freed the Jews from slavery in Egypt, they grumbled thinking they would starve to death in the wilderness (Ex. 16:2). They were complainers. Similarly, we have everything in God, yet we often whine and complain. God promised them food for each day. The condition was that they take only enough for today, not for tomorrow. Those who disobeyed became sick. God provided for them on a daily basis. But some desired to live on yesterday’s blessings. Are you living on yesterday’s blessings or trusting that God will provide fresh blessings each new day? God wants to do something new in your life - today! He says, “Trust me for this moment.” Long For The Future
Longing for the future may appear to be a contradiction to living in the present. But I’m talking about longing for the future glory of being home with God, of seeing Him face to face, of being in His presence (Rom. 8:18, 23-25). Are you longing for Christ’s return? In the meantime, we are to “wait ... patiently” (Rom. 8:25). Yet these words were written nearly 2,000 years ago - a long time to wait! Others may think we are crazy to be waiting and hoping that the Lord will come again. But the great example of faith is believing without a doubt that what we hope for is going to happen (Heb. 11:1). The Bible says we are like aliens and strangers in this world - we don’t belong here (1 Pet. 2:11). Are you looking forward to the day when Christ will come to take us home to be with Him? Are you encouraging others with this thought? (1 Th. 4:15-18). Are you longing for the future, forgetting about the past, living in the present? Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho - not the kind of woman you would want to be seen with. When the Jews were capturing Canaan, Joshua sent two spies into the city. She hid them and asked them what was going to happen. They told her that they were going to capture the city. She realized she was on the wrong team. She asked for their protection when they took the city, and they kept their word (Josh. 2:1-21; 6:24-25). In the past, as a prostitute, Rahab was far away from God. She would have wanted to forget her past. In the present she lived for the moment by hiding the two men - and she was righteous (Jas. 2:25). What an incredible picture of what God desires to do in the lives of the people He loves! You may have done some silly things in your past. Maybe even some bad and hurtful things - things you would like to forget, things that come back to haunt you. In the present you should desire to change your life and be what God wants you to be, and put away those past things so that in the future it can be attributed to you as righteousness - as it was to Rahab. There is nothing you have done in the past that God can’t forgive. And if you have asked for forgiveness then He has forgiven you and forgotten about it. So the way that you let go of the past is through forgiveness. The way that you live in the present is with passion. And the way that you long for the future is by faith. What a difference it would make if we all understood the importance of forgiveness, passion and faith in our lives. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Peter Beeby and his wife have three adult children and live in Sydney, Australia. They are involved in singing and youth ministries in their local church.