I am never surprised at how powerful hurts of the past can hold people hostage. I am always broken when I find out just how much people get held back from experiencing all that God has for them, simply because of the past.
This is a power that is hard to break, hard to let go of. We justify it - "But they hurt me...But they lied to me...But they ______________"(you fill it in). And what does it get us? How does it help us? What does it do to our relationships? In fact, it gets so bad sometimes that we can't even see the good that is going on all around us.
What does this watching community see in us as this plays out in our lives?
I was reminded today about the passage in Isaiah 43, starting in verse 16. God's reminding the people about His mercy and all that He had done for them. He destroyed Pharaoh's army and "they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:" (vs. 17b)
And then He floors me -
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past."
WHAT? You just reminded them how incredible You are, how You took care of them in their hour of need, and You want them to forget about it? I get the do not dwell on the past part, but what about all the good stuff?
Don't miss this - we can even sometimes get so caught up in all the good stuff He did that we want Him to do THAT again and miss out on what the new thing is!
This is where many churches, including ours at times, can get caught up in the 'good ole' days' of church life. I'm not saying what happened then was bad, please hear that! But what worked for growing the Kingdom then and being the body then may not work for us today.
If we get caught in looking back and enjoying those moments, we will certainly miss all that is now and yet to come. That would be devastating to His work in our lives.
This is also true of holding onto the things of the past that truly hurt us. I'm not minimizing anything or making any of it trivial. But history tells me that 1) the person that caused/is causing you this pain may not even know about it or to what degree; 2) the majority of the time it is simply a communication mix-up. There are, of course, exceptions. But until you take the steps to move beyond the past, addressing and talking through it with those who hurt you, you will always be a prisoner.
That's the power of the past. It holds you; it harms you; it consumes you. Gods design for our lives is to be free, not captive. It's to be alive and sharing, not stagnant and withdrawing. God has a purpose for you! (Ephesians 2:!0)
"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" (Isa. 43:19a)
2 comments:
It still amazes me that people can let a bad experience with someone who isn't even around anymore dictate their feelings about a whole group. Isn't that guilt by association? I have had people hurt me terribly, but I have forgiven and moved on. I'm sure someday I will understand, but it just makes me sad.
Even if the people are still around, it is sad that God loses out. I think we often forget about Him in these times. If we forgive like He forgave...if we love like He loved...if we live like He lived then Satan would lose his hold on God's church!
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