Jen’s Gem: Leave your past behind.

As my email saga continued this week, I had an opportunity to take a huge step back and evaluate the situation. After tears were dried and I was able to send and receive emails again, a decision was needed regarding the previous emails with my former provider.

Multiple emails, phone calls, and some due diligence on my part resulted in me asking myself this question:

“Do I REALLY need these emails?”

The thought of trashing more than a year’s worth of emails scared the be-jeebies out of me. “But what if this and what if that?” questions filled my mind as I stared at the multitude of folders filled with these ‘critical’ messages.

I decided to review the emails folder by folder. What I quickly discovered was that they were not as critical as I’d imagined. Do I really need to keep an email that says “Here’s my invoice” when I have the invoice on my laptop?

After this discovery, I went on a deleting rampage, tossing entire email folders to the wind. As I watched my inbox decrease and my trash folder increase, there was a sense of freedom. Ahh – the past is over. Let’s get ready for what comes next!

The day after this major purge, what do you think the title of my devotional was for the day?

“Preoccupied With The Past?”

I literally laughed out loud, looked up to the heavens and said “Ok, Lord…you really do have a sense of humor.” The Scripture that was associated with this message was from Isaiah 65:17:

“The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”

How appropriate! Except for a few of my more recent emails, I hadn’t thought of nor accessed the ones I deleted in years! Not once! So why was I holding on to them so tightly? Why was I so afraid to kick them to the curb, embrace my new email program, and move on?

Fear of the unknown can make you do dumb things. 

It’s the same with life, isn’t it? We struggle with our past and worry about our future. In doing so, we miss the present. We miss God’s rich blessings because our eyes are looking back in regret or looking ahead with worry.

Here’s the thing:

We all have a past filled with regrets and joys. Guess what? That’s life! God never promised us that life would be easy nor that we would never have any problems. That’s a lie from the devil that causes people to blame God for the bad things that happen.  (Just remember this: all good things come from God. All bad things come from Satan. Case closed.)

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17 NIV).

So what did God promise us? Let’s look at what He says in His Word:

• He’d be with us through every storm.
• He would never leave us nor forsake us.
• He would turn ashes into beauty.
• He would create good out of the bad.

When we put our trust in Him, then we know we will have victory over the trials we face. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But someday. That’s why it’s important to have faith in God. 

Today you have a choice. You can remain in the past or you can take a step of faith into your future. Cherish the wonderful memories that were created from years ago, but then let go of the rest. It’s over.

Learn the lessons from your past and apply them to your life today so your tomorrow can be even better.

The Bible says  – and these are Jesus’ actual words – “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 NKJV).

Let’s celebrate and live the abundant life that Jesus promised! He’s doing a new thing. Don’t get stuck in the past.

“Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert”(Isaiah 43:19 NKJV).