Do you ever find yourself repeating, “Let it go…let it go…?” Not because you’ve watched the movie Frozen with your niece a bazillion times, but because Paul’s words to the Philippians are truly in your heart:

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 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. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.” – Philippians 3:12-16.

Sometimes it’s tempting to spend much time dwelling on moments that we want so badly to let go of forever.

Forgive and Forget

All of us have encountered losses, disappointments, failures, discouragements — painful moments we would never welcome back. All of us have also experienced times of triumph, fun, success and delight. These are joyful moments we might choose to relive again and they provide warm memories. The challenge from Paul is to leave things in the past and keep moving forward in Christ, with passion to fulfill His call on our lives.

So, what does this mean? What does this look like? We may quickly think of examples such as forgiving someone who has wronged us. As the saying goes, “forgive and forget.” We may think about freedom from previous bad choices, knowing sins that have easily entangled us in the past should be avoided in the future.

God at the Center

But, if we look more closely at Paul’s words we realize that God is calling us to press on toward Him. Not merely to avoid past hurts, mistakes, and sins, but also to remind us not to dwell on even the best moments of our lives. Whether we dwell on past failures or successes, either way the focus is on ourselves. God always wants to be the center of our lives. In order to keep God at the center, our focus must always and supremely be on Him…on Christ alone.

As we continue in our journeys, we can say with confidence, “LET IT GO!” No matter what lies behind us, God calls us to constantly be moving forward in Him.

With Christ, we can be fully confident that the best is yet to come! I’m excited for what God has in store for me and my family this year. I’m also excited for what God has in store for us as a community at Evangel.