I can never change my past, but I can change my future by changing my actions today.
-Andy Andrews, The Traveler’s Gift
Your past can speak loudly at times. People, places and experiences can bring a rush of unwelcomed memories causing us to slip into a dark place. We might even utter the phrase … “If I could just go back 5 seconds…” We wonder if we can ever shake the regret of past decisions and experiences.
How do we overcome our past and move forward into living an abundant life free from regrets?
While the process of overcoming your past can be extensive, let’s focus on three simple strategies that can empower us to move forward.
- Be aware of your triggers! We all have certain things that trigger us and cause us to spiral into an unhealthy state. It may be something you hear, see, touch, taste, smell or perceive that causes you to walk back into your past. Overcoming your past lies in being able to identify what triggers you and how you allow the thoughts and emotions from the trigger to affect your reactions and decision-making. If we understand our triggers and take our thoughts captive to the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), we can overcome our past.
- Decide to pivot. They say the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect different results. If we want our future to look different than our past than we have to do things differently. Your decisions matter. You have the ability to make any choice you want. However, you cannot choose your consequences…. so choose wisely. This is where repentance comes in to play. There is a point in our life where we need to repent of the wrong we have done. We need to seek forgiveness from God and others for the times we have walked away from God’s standards thereby bringing hurt and pain to God, others and ourselves. Acts 3:19 gives us a beautiful promise, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” Evaluate the areas in your life in which you need to pivot.
- Walking in our identity in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 promises, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Our past can no longer have a hold on us when we walk in the reality that, in Christ, we are a new person. Our past no longer determines our future. Our identity as a wholly restored, redeemed, and chosen person by our Savior, Jesus Christ, trumps our past.
Action Step
Let’s personalize 2 Corinthians 5:17 for our own lives. Find some quiet time, grab your journal, and pen your reflections on the following:
“Therefore, since I am in Christ, I am a new person. I am no longer (list the past that you have been forgiven from), but now I am (write the words that identify you as a new creation in Christ.)”
Put this in a place that will remind you of the new you in Christ!
May we continue to live…
Rooted in Him,
