LET GO OF THE PAST

Choose to live today.  Yesterday has gone and you cannot change it.  Tomorrow has yet to come so you cannot access it.  This is your time NOW.

Have you ever been to a track meet?  The excitement builds as the runners take their positions at the blocks. The starter raises his pistol……..the runners tense for the explosive start…..the gun is fired and the race is on!  Wow!  The excitement is incredible.  You can almost feel the energy being exerted by each runner as they sprint toward the finish line.  But wait.  There seems to be a problem.  One of the runners has stopped in the middle of the track and is looking back at the starting blocks.  All the other runners are passing him and heading toward the goal……the finish line.  Why did that runner stop?  He was in the lead and seemed to be a sure winner.  Now he will be listed as DNF.  Did not finish.

  What could a track meet have to do with this message today?  How can a simple race be applied to your Christian walk?  Easy.  To start with, let’s look at some scripture and get some ideas.  In Phil. 3:12-14 (Good News Bible)  I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect.  I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself.  Of course, my brothers, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead.  So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above.

  Notice anything similar to the track meet and the scripture?  Both have a goal.  Both require the participants to run straight ahead TOWARDS the goal.  Both require a maximum effort to COMPLETE the race.  The difference is that the track event is not a matter of life or death, while the scripture “race” is a matter of eternal life.

  In the Dakes Annotated Reference Bible we will find yet another bit of information that will help us to understand what is really going on in our Christian “race.”  Using Phil 3:13 as the verse Dakes lists three parts to the “one thing I do” section of the verse.  1. I forget the ground I have covered in the race (1 Cor. 9:24-27). I cannot waste time over the past.  2. I reach forth to that which is before me in the race.  I strain every nerve and muscle and use every ounce or my strength to win.  My future depends on it.  I am running for my life.  3. I press toward the mark (v 14), that is, I pursue that white line in the stadium upon which all runners must keep their eyes fixed, lest I be disqualified for the prize.  If you apply these three thoughts to the actual track meet AND to the Christian “race” you will more fully understand the importance of keeping focused on what is ahead and not what was left behind.  If each runner stopped midway in the race and analyzed their start…..i.e.: did they come up too quickly, or did they hesitate when the gun went off, or many other details only a highly trained runner would know.  Perhaps they stopped just because they saw that the finish line tape was not a color they liked.  I know, I know, stupid thought……….or is it any more stupid to lose today because you spent the entire day fussing about what went down yesterday!  Either idea brings about the same result……neither finish the “race.”  Or, perhaps, you spend this day worrying about tomorrow, knowing full well that you cannot do anything about it anyway.  There are a lot of people out there that will lose days or even weeks doing just that.  They worry their life away on things that they cannot control or change.  The scripture in Ps. 34: 9-10 sheds some light on why not to worry.  “Have reverence for the Lord, all his people; those who obey him have all they need.  Even lions go hungry for lack of food, but those who obey the Lord lack nothing good.”  Worry is the start of something that the enemy can use in his deception.   By getting into the Word each day and offering every concern to God in prayer, you will be choosing blessings for the day.

   The goal of each Believer is to finish that race.  I did not say the goal was to be FIRST but to FINISH.  Each person has to take whatever skills, talents, and gifts that they have and apply them to completing the journey.  As you travel along that path you will begin to see that the path becomes narrower and there will be fewer and fewer pilgrims on that journey.  The reason is simple.  Walking with Christ is not without persecution and trials.  The journey begins each new day and ends at the throne of God. The path must be through and with the Lord Jesus Christ or there is no hope in reaching the Kingdom of God.  Only through the Son will the Father be revealed.

   Remember the runners that finished the race.  Each gave their best and finished.  Each Christian must do no less in their “race”.  The difference is that each Christian who finishes will be given the Crown of Life.  Sure beats a ribbon.  Heb. 10:39 “We are not people who turn back and are lost.  Instead, we have faith and are saved.”

  To conclude this thought for the day.  Remember Lot and his wife?   God told them to leave Sodom and Gomorrah because He was going to destroy them because of their sinfulness.  He told them NOT to look back.  Guess who looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.  How sad and how unnecessary.  If only she had listened to God.  If only WE would listen to God today before it is too late.  This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Not yesterday.  Not tomorrow.  TODAY.