During a basketball game in high school, I was called for traveling. As I approached the official in a huff to “make my case,” I was dragged to the bench by my coach to calm me down. Feeling we have been wronged and seeking to correct it is part of being human. But why does it anger our coaches to argue with officials?  Well, the player could get in trouble unnecessarily. But even more than that is that arguing takes focus off of what is going on.

When I argued the call, my focus was on me, not on the game, not my coach, not even my opponents. I was right, and I had to make the official understand.

Our walk with God is like that. There are times when we struggle to move past the past. When we have failure, we can replay it in our heads and grieve over it. When we have success, we can feel proud and almost live in that pride for a while. But we need to forget the past to move forward. Paul wrote most of the New Testament, including verse Philippians 3:13, and he could not live in the past. To keep moving, he had to let go.

Jeremiah 29 says that God has a future for you. You cannot reach for YOUR future in Him by holding onto the past. God wants to forgive you of everything from your past. Give everything to God and follow Him wholeheartedly!