Don’t let looking back, keep you from looking ahead. One of the favorite sayings of our ancestors here in the mountains of Tennessee, is “Make the Least of What Goes… Make the Most of What Comes”…That was an important attitude to survive in the pioneer days that were very difficult for them. They dealt with extreme weather, sickness, and overall difficulty just to live off the land. I so admire their toughness, love for God, Family, and Friends regardless of the hardships they encountered. They lived life simply and made the most of each day and adapted and adjusted to the things they could not control.That is good advice for us today.  Rewinding our hurts in our minds over and over again does not allows us to fully focus on the present and have hope for the future. I am convinced one of the devll’s chief strategies against Christians today is to keep us preoccuppied with our past hurts instead of focusing on God. We would think it dangerous to drive a car and just look in the rearview mirror all the time. Likewise, focusing on the pain in our past is dangerous and can lead to bitterness which always has a negeative effect upon our own attitude and our relationships with others.

Several suggestions would include taking time to pray specifically about those hurts asking God fo His peace, love, and forgiveness. Also, talk with a trusted friend or counselor for additional help. The Bible has incredible encouragement too. Scripture such as:

– “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12 HCSB)

– ” You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and character] is stayed on You, because he committs himself to You, lean on You and hopes confidently in You.” – Isaih 26:3 (AMP)

– “The Lord says “Forget what happened before, and do not think about the past. Look at the new thing I am going to do. It is already happening. Do you see it? I will make a road in the desert and rivers in dry land.” – Isaiah 43:18,19 (NCV).

– “This one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” ( Philippians 2:13, 14 HCSB)

May we not allow… our hurts from the past keep us from experiencing the joy of the present and hope in the future…