Don't Look Back

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Thursday, February 12, 2009

One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 3:13–14

The apostle Paul said, "one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead . . ." (Philippians 3:13).

Paul had committed horrible things, hunting down Christians and throwing them in prison. Yet he said, "I am forgetting it. I am not going to be crippled by my past."

The devil desires nothing more than to cripple you with your past. "Remember what you used to do. Remember the sins you committed. Remember the horrible things you did," he says.

Paul put his past behind him and moved forward as a new person in Christ. You can do that, too. The Bible says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

You say, "I have done some pretty horrible things." Welcome to the club! We all have sinned. We have all fallen short (see Romans 3:23).

But God can change you and make you a different person on the inside. It's so great to say, "I'm not looking back. I am moving forward as a Christian."

Lot's wife looked back. She was led by the angels and actually left Sodom and Gomorrah with her family. She was almost out of that place. But she didn't get far enough. She just had to steal that one last backward glance.

The lesson of Lot's wife is clear: don't look back. Don't let that happen to you. You can be crippled by past failures and past sins. Or you can put them behind you as you start over again and follow Jesus Christ.

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