Philippians 3:13 -16,  “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things.  And if at some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.  Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”

There’s no going back if you are truly following Him!  Life is difficult, to say the least, and can be overwhelming at times.  Whatever you have faced or are facing today, as the Bible says, “came to pass”.  That means you can’t live there.  

What was one of the things that really irritated God with the Israelites after He brought them out of Egypt?  It was their grumbling and complaining about having left Egypt.  Seriously!  They cried out in Egypt to be rescued from their slave masters who were beating and even killing them, yet when they looked back they wanted to focus on the “crumbs of goodness” instead of the amazing things God was doing and how He was miraculously providing for them.  They kept focusing on the past instead of where God was trying to take them even though the past was terrible.  

Sometimes when we look back we may dwell on the tidbits of good and that is ok, to remember, but you are called to keep pressing forward into all God is trying to move you into.  You cannot focus on your Egypt and gain the Promised Land!  You can learn from your past, but if you choose to live there you are going to be absolutely miserable!  Even if your past was good, you still can’t live there. If you have been wronged by someone and you need to forgive them don’t put it off, it’s only hurting you more, and if you have forgiven them, move on!  Don’t let satan hold you back by dwelling on it, that will just make you frustrated and keep you stuck. Take the good and figure out what it was that made it good, but you cannot recreate your past, people and times change so it is time to focus on what God is calling you to, not where He brought you from whether that was good or bad!  

God loves you and He has a plan and just like He told the Israelites, you need to move forward and stop trying to relive the past.  The New Year is almost here and you have a choice ~ will you focus on the past or are you going to allow God to move and grow you into all He has prepared for you?  The choice is yours.  Growing, maturing, and being stretched by God isn’t easy, but He is with you and will guide you if you will just seek Him!  He doesn’t expect you to figure out every detail, He expects you to do what He puts in front of you to do today and trust Him.  Our life here on earth is short so what’s it going to be?  Are you ready to become all God created you to be or are you going to analyze what was in your past?  If there are things you need to process, by all means, find a Godly Counselor to help you do that, there are some things you really need someone to help guide you through so you can process it correctly.  If you need help finding a great Godly counselor you can go to www.aacc.net and search for one in your area, don’t put it off.  Once you have worked through what you need to work through though, don’t keep dwelling on it, ask God to help you move forward.  His desire is to move you into all He created you to be, not leave you wallowing in your past regardless of whether your past is heartaches or victories, you can’t live there anymore, you are called to so much more and if you will just let go and follow Him, you will find that truly His best is yet to come in your life!