Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
This is often times a difficult passage to understand especially the “forgetting those things which as behind” part. It is not possible to forget completely. I don’t believe that we are meant as human beings to completely forget. However, it is possible to learn from past mistakes.
Many years ago, I was having problems. My mom explained this verse to me. She explained that if you stay focused on the past you can’t reach what is in front of you. Jesus has plans for you. You will never accomplish His plans for you if you stay focused on the past. She used a demonstration to explain this to me. Here is the demonstration:
- Pretend that 1 spot in your home is the past. (We used the front door.)
- Pretend that an area in front of that 1st spot is what Jesus wants for you. (We used the living room).
- Now start at the past. Start walking towards the future.
- Now look back at the past and try to walk towards the future. (It is not possible.)
- Now set your eyes where Jesus is (the future) and try to walk towards the future. (It is now possible.)
Remember the time when Jesus walked on the water and Peter asked to come out on the water to Jesus. Matthew 14:28-30 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Notice that as long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was able to walk towards Jesus, but when he took his eyes off of Jesus, he started sinking. It is the same way with us. We can only go forward to Jesus when we keep our eyes on Jesus and stop worrying about our past (forgetting those things which are behind). This sometimes takes many hours of prayer, but it is more than worth the time in prayer.
4 responses to “Letting Go of the Past: A Guide to Philippians 3:13-14”
[…] Letting Go of the Past: A Guide to Philippians 3:13-14: Philippians 3:13-14 emphasizes the importance of focusing on the future and Jesus’ plans, rather than dwelling on past mistakes and/or other problems, to achieve spiritual growth. […]
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I’ve been struggling to let go of past mistakes, so Philippians 3:13-14 really resonates with me – how do you think we can balance remembering lessons learned with not dwelling on them? 🤔
We must remember that we are still human. Humans unfortunately still have many faults. We must also remember that we can ask for forgiveness. God has promised to forgive us of our mistakes. However, we still need to learn from the mistakes so that we don’t keep making the same mistakes. As for not dwelling on them, that takes prayer. We need the peace that can only come from God in order to remember where we have come from while looking ahead to where God is calling us to go.