Thank God for everything He brought you through. But Paul said, “Forgetting what is behind and press on”
(Phil. 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, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
. The lows and highs of the past are history. They won’t do you any good tomorrow. Forget all of it—the good, the bad, the ugly—everything. Let it go. You can’t change it. If you live in the past, it will hinder you from pressing on.
If you’ve messed up, get back up! No matter how young or old you are, Jesus has His arm out to you saying, “Come on! Let’s go! Get back in the game. Play like you’ve never played before. There’s a great future ahead!”
Four Simple Steps
Are you ready to experience the start of a new chapter in your life? These four steps will help you let go of the past, get up after your mistakes, and find success as you press on.
KEEP GOD FIRST. The basic formula for a fresh start is to put God first 365 days a year, not just when you go to church or are around other Christians. Keep Him number one every day in your home, in your business, and in every step of the way. Your relationship with God is the secret of your success.
Matt 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
FORGET THE PAST. You can’t have a fresh start by dwelling on the past! Everybody wants to be successful. Everybody makes mistakes. You can be a success or a failure. It’s up to you. It doesn’t depend on what you did yesterday, last year, or the last five years. It depends on what you’re going to do tomorrow.
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,
Isaiah 43:18-19 – Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
DON’T TRY TO FIGURE OUT THE FUTURE. Just live for God day by day and do what He asks you to do. When you follow His guidance, you’ll get to the end of where He is leading you, and you’ll discover that you were able to do a lot more than you thought you could!
Matthew 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Proverbs 3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
PUT GOD’S WORD FIRST. In every situation, find out what God says about it. Then go with what God says, not what somebody else says. You can’t neglect the Bible and expect to find true prosperity and happiness. The Bible must have a tremendous place in your life every day if you’re going to be a success.
Tomorrow is yours. What you do with each new day is up to you. Whether it’s a new year or a new life, you can point at yourself and say, “The future will be exactly what I make it.”
Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Ps. 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee
in a dry and thirsty land,
Matthew 6:33 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.