Verse Thoughts - Philippians 3:13-14

“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
- ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:13-14‬ ‭

In recent weeks, I have caught myself trying to “relive the past” so to speak, trying to recapture long gone eras and nostalgic feelings. In my desperate attempts to recreate what to me were “simpler times,” I ended up making things much harder for myself, stagnating my growth, becoming unproductive, and ultimately, miserable. Sometimes we get caught in these ruts of the past— whether it’s a good time we’re reminiscing about, or even trauma that we are still haunted by. Either way, we can find ourselves “living in the past” and becoming stagnant, caught in the enemy’s trap in an attempt to hold us back from growing in Christ. I think this verse is a good reminder, perhaps something we should memorize and repeat to ourselves in times when we are tempted to dwell on the past in one respect or another. We need to ask God for His strength and His help to fight off such temptations and remind ourselves to walk forward, not back. This is definitely a reminder I will need everyday. So my prayer is that God would help all of us to leave the past behind and press ahead, that He would heal us from past wounds and instead give us eyes that look continually forward. Lord, do a mighty work in us today and help us to press forward and to leave the past where it belongs. Please help us to continue growing in You and not to be stunted by hurdles from the old life. Change our hearts and our desires, and remind us that true life is found only in You, not the “idols” we once fled after. Please change us today, give us an unshakable faith, a passionate love and a deep trust in You alone.