“Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. (Philippians 3:13 NASB)
At some point in time, I know that I have shared my 2nd or 3rdth grade story with you, describing how I did not get part of the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic right, singing “as true as Margie Owens,” instead of “His truth is marching on.” I don’t even know a Margie Owens, never did! I’m sure you got a laugh about my blunder back in the day. Well, I held back in telling another one my singing miscues at that time, but I’m going to make it right today. I’m going to come clean. Around the same time in my elementary days, I made another error while we were singing, “Pass Not O’ Gentle Savior.” This time it was at church as opposed to my elementary school. Instead of singing, “Do not pass me by, “ once again I had my own lyrics, “Do not past me by.” I thought of this occurrence when one of our church choir members brought it to my attention last Saturday. In jest, she was kind of warning those who had not went over the songs before rehearsal not to go by what was coming out of my mouth. Later that day I started thinking about my words and I arrived at a new way to explain my words.
All of us have things in the past, and some of those things are not so funny. Thoughts of the past invade our consciousness in an effort to try and disturb our peace or disrupt our focus on the present, along with our dedicated pursuit of future goals and or ambitions that will make God smile. The past, watch out, for it can be a dangerous device used by the devil to weigh you down in reverberating guilt, resonating regret, and renewing old disappointments. Don’t be fooled! Satan will have you dwell on what was, as opposed to what is or what you are becoming as the Lord molds you and shapes you, always making you better, finishing the great work He began in you. Satan will use the past to unconsciously put a barrier between you and other believers. Our adversary will go to any means to cloud up the prism by which you see things with the past, and by doing so he will cause you to say something you should have suppressed or commit a sin, yes. a sin of omission or commission. The cunning and scheming one, that liar, he will bring up the complexities of the past to combat your own self-esteem or cancel the self-esteem of some innocent soul. Think about it! The enemy “helps” your natural self, disguise the impact of focusing on the past in a seemingly exonerating, self-analysis exercise that produces the words, “That’s just how I am.” And there is the famous, “I’m too old to be changing now.” Really! Being who we are, Christians, we are always pressing upward toward the mark, we need to ignore my made-up words, “Do not past me by.” And let the past go on by or stay where it belongs, in the past! We can, yes, we can do all things through Christ! Hence, we can Keep the past from putting us in some type of unrecognized prison; a trapping that comprises our ability to model Christian virtues.
“Do not past me by!” That elementary goof turns out to be good advice after all. My mistake became useful for all of us, including you and me. I need to add this caveat, when you do look back at the past, zero in on seeing God’s how God’s surely been good to you. Consider how He was working on you for good, unfolding your life story for His purpose! Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! Again, let the redeemed say so! Have a great Thursday! Be blessed!
“I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3:14 NLT)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King