Stepping Out of the Past and Into the Present

In order to live life successfully in the present and move into the future God has planned for us, we have to step out of the past.

People who suffer from eating disorders, addictions, or any other destructive habits of the flesh that are rooted in the past often beat themselves up over reoccurring failure in their area of weakness. They can't forgive themselves and, as a result, the past controls their lives so much that they are unable to function successfully in the present. No matter what our past has been, it doesn't have to rule our lives today.

When we walk with the Lord, healing, deliverance, and growth are ongoing in our lives. That's why what may have been true for us last year will not necessarily be true for us today. Yesterday's failure may become today's success.

If there are things in your life about which you have a choice, yet you keep making the wrong choice over and over, you are probably living in the past in some way. There are no shortcuts to emotional healing, but it can happen if you get close to God and take one step at a time with Him. That means coming to Him every time you are tempted or tormented by the problem, and asking Him to help you move forward step by step.

If you are in a place where you're not able to see a future for yourself, it may be because you believe the past has kept you from moving into the future God has for you. The truth is that God redeems everything. Even our past. He does it one step at a time as we depend on Him.

Getting free from our past doesn't happen overnight. There is nothing wrong with asking for help. Don't hesitate to get godly counsel, but know that in the end it will be you and God together walking out of the past.

Once you step out of your past, don't look back. Along with not looking back, it's not good to look too far ahead, either. Doing so may cause you to worry about where you think you should be, and that can be overwhelming too. Looking back, you'll see all that you didn't do. Looking too far forward, you see all you think you can't do.

The way we step out of the past is to walk in the Spirit. We are walking in the Spirit when the guide for our life is God's Word instead of magazines, television, movies, worldly books, or ungodly people. We are walking in the Spirit when we ask God daily for direction, guidance, and revelation. We are walking in the Spirit when we commit every aspect of our life - relationships, work, decisions, thoughts, and actions - to prayer instead of leaving it all to chance. We are walking in the Spirit when we determine each morning to worship God and set our mind on the things He has called us to, and not on things that have happened in the past.

When we come to a place where we trust that God's timing is perfect, we can be content no matter where we are because we know that God will not leave us there forever.

Being grateful for what we have doesn't mean we will never have more.

Walking with God means living moment by moment with Him in the present.

We must live in the present as if we don't have a past, certain that the steps we take today will determine our future.

God says you are not to be anxious about tomorrow, for there will be plenty of things to concern you when you get there.

We worry so about our future because we can never be completely certain about it. A single event can change our lives. For the better, we hope. For the worse, we fear. God says that although we won't know everything about our future, we are still to inquire about it. When we ask, He sometimes reveals specifics. But most of the time He doesn't give us anything more than the assurance that our future is secure in His hands. He shows us that we have a future, and this simple knowledge must be enough for us.

Living in the present doesn't mean we should not plan for wha't ahead. We can and we must. It's just that we are not to make plans without consulting God first and bringing Him into them. We must never consider our future without first asking God to be in charge of it. And once we do that, we are to leave it in His hands and not lose sleep over it.

You have a great future ahead and it will be reached as you move out of your past and walk step by step with God as He reveals Himself to you in the present.

Just as you should not live in the past, resist the urge to live in the future also. Put your future in God's hands, trusting that He will never withhold anything good from you, and then stop worrying about it. God is not asking you to have your whole future figured out. He is asking you to trust that He has your future planned. Thinking too much about the future can keep you from fully living the life God has given you now. You don't have to have your life all figured out; you only have to take one step at a time.