Journey into Lightl

It occurred to me this week that I need to let go of some old things in my life. By hanging on to them, I was hurting my ability to embrace the new.

One of them was the church I used to attend. It was my home for 31 years. Yet, I needed to move on. I was now in a different place and needed a different place to thrive and serve. Yet, my heart was sad and a part of me wanted to live in the past.

Another thing I think I need to leave behind is the counselor that I have gone to over the years for a variety of issues. He had become a trusted advisor. But now, it seems I need help with an issue that has exhausted his expertise. But I am resisting seeking new counsel. I want to stick with the known and trusted.

A final area that I may need to let go of is leading a small spiritual growth group for mature Christians. I have been doing this kind of ministry for many years. It’s part of my identity. I get blessed and the ministry seems to bless others.

But God seems to be blocking every effort I make to do this ministry at the new church. Instead, is providing an opportunity to lead small groups of people who aren’t even Christians yet or just beginning to live the Christian life.

God seems to be leading me to leave behind the past behind, so that I will have the time to embrace this new kind of ministry.

But what does it mean to leave the past behind?

What It Means

Leaving the past behind involves choosing to follow God’s will instead of clinging to our past (1 Peter 4:2). Even when some of our past was doing God’s will, he now may want to take us in new directions.

When I first became a Christian, God wanted me to leave behind moving back to Illinois from California. He also wanted me to leave behind my parents’ wishes for me to be an engineer, and instead follow his wishes. He also wanted me to leave behind my grandiose dreams of career success, and instead seek less demanding jobs that would allow me more time for ministry.

Why Do It

We leave behind the past so that we can embrace the exciting future God has for us. “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). But we must leave the past behind to experience this new life.

We leave the past behind because it’s a poor substitute for the life God wants us to have. “And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for My sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29, NLT). The benefits of leaving behind the things that are no longer God’s will, far out weigh the costs to receive them.

Another reason to let go of the past is that by hanging on we can miss the abundant life God wants to give us. For example, we may be clinging to the false hope from our past that by trying hard to please, we can eventually squeeze out enough love to be satisfied.

But we will never be satisfied with this false hope. “Human desire is never satisfied” (Proverbs 27:20, NLT). Instead, God offers us the experience of his deep love for us that has no strings attached. “My love for you is so great that it is beyond your understanding” (Psalm 103:11, Paraphrased).

But when we fail to leave behind our efforts to earn love from the past, we fail to experience God’s too-good-to-be-true love for us that is true.

So, how do we leave the past behind in order to embrace the wonderful future God has planned for us?

What Helps To Do It

We need to be intentional about identifying our past that needs to go and put it off. We do this by relying on the Spirit to identify and free us from false beliefs and dependencies (Romans 8:13).

Two examples of false beliefs for me are that I can’t do anything with my hands, and I’m not worth very much unless I achieve and impress. Both these beliefs are false and need to be rejected and left behind.

As I do this, I will be freer to accept the wonderful truths that I’m acceptable and precious to God, no matter what.

Another thing we can do to escape the past is to fill our minds with God’s thoughts that are given in the Bible. God sees life and us greatly different than we do. As we get to know him through the Bible, he transforms us so that we think his thoughts and become better able to leave our past behind. (2 Corinthians 3:18).