FORGIVENESS MAKES A WAY FOR YOU TO MOVE FORWARD

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”—Matthew 6:14-15

 

Some people, before they became a Christian, experienced a past that they are not proud of.  Many of us have experienced disappointments in life, failures of some kind, and have experienced things that we did not intend to have happen.  God wants us to live in the today of our lives.  Not in the past.  He is a Now God.  Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is now, and 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “…Now is the day of salvation…”  It is important to understand that your past does not have to hinder you from moving forward with God.  God wants you to know that you can move beyond your past, and that there is nothing too hard or too big, for Him to handle.  The key is that you must give it to Him and be willing to change so that you can move forward.

In John chapter 8 a woman caught in adultery has an encounter that changed her life so that she could move forward.  In those days, the Jewish law said that anyone caught in the act of adultery would be stoned to death.  The religious leaders tested Jesus by throwing her down at His feet and asking what He thought that they should do with her.  Speaking in wisdom, Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:7).  No one threw a single stone!  Jesus turned to the woman asked her where are the ones that were accusing you?  She replied that there were none.  Then Jesus said the most amazing thing, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more” (John 8:11).  In that instant, Jesus gave her forgiveness and freedom from her past—and an instruction of how to live her life from that moment on.  She could move forward—no longer caught in the past; her new day had come!

For you to live in your new day, it is important to understand that the past—is past.  As long as you are living in the past, or tied to it by lack of repentance and unforgiveness you can not really move forward.  You are unable to focus on the unlimited good things that God has for you today, if you are tied to the past.

The good news is that there is nothing in our past that we can not give to God.  He is willing to forgive it all, if we truly want to be forgiven and to live according to His ways.  “If you confess your sin, He [the Lord] is faithful and just to forgive you of your sin, and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). 

Through the blood of Jesus, shed for you and me on the Cross, we have forgiveness of our sins and mistakes.  When we honestly admit we have done wrong, repent to God for it, make things right, and change how we act in the future we are honoring the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

When you realized that you have made a mistake, the first step to take is sincerely go to God and make it right.  He will abundantly pardon and help you to avoid trouble in the future when you are willing to listen to Him and allow Him to direct your path.  There are times that you need to ask forgiveness from those you may have offended.  Sometimes this means going to them personally, and it that is not possible, God knows your heart.  It can be hard to humble yourself to the people that you have hurt; however, sometimes this can be a powerful step to take, if you want to move beyond the past, and move forward into your New day.  You can not control how others will respond, but you can make your heart and your actions right.  One of the greatest truths to learn is to forgive yourself and to forgive your regrets.  We think we should have done better, and we hold our mistakes against ourselves.  Often it is pride that holds you to the past.

No one is every going to get life perfect all of the time because there is only one Person who is perfect and sinless—Jesus.  When we do sin, we repent and He forgive us.  We are then able to move forward.  He is not holding anything against us!

Prayer—Father I want to give You my past.  Everything that is hurting and broken in me because of past mistakes, sins, and failures I give it all to You now.  Please forgive me, and set me free from anything that would hold me back.  Help me to move forward in You, starting right now, with a clean slate, in Jesus Name. Amen.