We all have a past! We also have some things we’ve done in the past we probably aren’t very proud of. Not one of us is going to go through our lives free from making any mistakes, it’s not possible. I believe we all realize this but yet and still we beat ourselves up over and over again for things we’ve done in the past. Why is that? How can we break that? I believe there are three things we can do to move past our mistakes.

The first thing we have to do is accept God’s forgiveness. Many times our guilt and shame over a situation is so powerful we won’t allow ourselves to move forward from it. We feel we have to hold on to that and keep serving some type of penance until we feel better about it. We don’t believe our God will forgive us for that mistake. How could He? I feel so bad about it so I know He must be angry and disappointed with me. But our God is not like that and the sins you’ve committed are already forgiven through the sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ.

Let’s take a look at a perfect example of God’s forgiveness from the Bible with the story of David and Bathsheba. David had it all, he was the King of Israel anointed by God. He had slain Goliath as a youth. He was the most powerful man in Israel and everything he wanted was right there for him. David was a rock star!

Unfortunately, one of the things David wanted was a beautiful woman named Bathsheba, who happened to be married. He could not control his desire for her and ended up sleeping with her. After sleeping with her and Bathsheba becoming pregnant, David had her husband killed in battle. Now Bathsheba was all his.

Talk about a messed up situation. Imagine the guilt and shame David must have felt. Because this was before the time of Jesus Christ and everyone still lived by the law, David paid a great price for his sin with the death of his firstborn son. Later Bathsheba gave birth to their 2nd son Solomon who went on to be a great King. God did hold David responsible for what he had done but David was also forgiven.

Now when you read a story like that and see how a man like David could do those things yet God still forgave him and continued to bless him, why would God not do that for you? David had it all and was so close to and blessed by God but he still messed up. This goes back to my point, not one of us is going to go through our lives free of mistakes. I mean if David couldn’t do it how do we expect to do it? So stop beating yourself up for not being perfect.

The second thing we have to do is not let others keep us focused on our past mistakes. This is a tough one! There will always be those out there who don’t want to see you succeed. They don’t want you to recover from that mistake. These people can be friends or even family members, those closest to you. They know the secrets and they’ve been there to see the mistakes. And many times they are the first ones to bring them back up to remind you that you’re not perfect. But do we truly need a reminder like that when we are trying to move past the mistake?

If you have people who are close to you that fall in this category you have to let them know it’s not right. Let them know that their constant condemnation is going to push you further away from them. There are some people we have to love from afar. Especially if being around them is keeping us from becoming all God has called us to be. You don’t have to push them completely away and forget about them. What you can do is put them at a distance where their negativity doesn’t keep you from your destiny.

The third thing we have to do is stop judging others. Sadly enough, there are times where we are that family member or friend who is keeping that other person mired in their guilt and past mistakes. I have to admit  I’ve been that person before. I’ve been the person who wouldn’t let a loved one move on from a past mistake. I’ve been the person to remind a friend of their mistakes from the past. I’ve been the person to keep bringing up a past mistake to a coworker. I’ve passed judgment on others at times thinking I am superior.

Each time we do this, each time we continue to bring someone else down and keep them from moving past their mistakes, we are wrong. When we feel ourselves falling into that trap of the enemy remember Luke 6:37 (NLT), “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.” Are we not able to move past the judgment of others upon us because we ourselves are judging others?

Here is the bottom line my friends! God has made us all to do great things despite our failed human form. We will sin, we will make mistakes, we will stumble and we will fall at times. Once you understand these things will happen then prepare yourself to move past them when they do. This is not a free pass to sin but an understanding that when we do and we ask God’s forgiveness, all is forgiven. At that point, learn from the mistake and don’t repeat it. Then move forward down the path God has laid out for you never once looking back at those past sins you’ve already been given for! Always remember Philippians 4:13, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

Truth in Love! ~ Chuck