Letting Go of the Past
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”
Hebrews 10:16–18
I read a humorous story about a couple who were having a problem in their marriage. Years before, Saul had done something really dumb, and Ethel had chewed him out royally. After he apologized, they made up. But as time passed, Ethel would from time to time bring up what he had done. Finally Saul said, “Honey, why do you keep bringing up what I did? I thought you said you would forgive and forget.” “I have,” Ethel replied, “But I don’t want you to forget that I’ve forgiven and forgotten!”
All of us have suffered from unfair treatment or unjust punishment at one point or another. Many have endured abuse, hardship, and suffering that they in no way deserved or merited. The world is filled with sinful people, and sinful people act in sinful ways. While there are scars that do not go away, there is a plan laid out for us in the Word of God to keep us from having to live with the pain of the past on an ongoing basis. And that plan centers around forgiveness.
Many people struggle to forgive and let go because they think it means they have to say that what happened to them was justified. But forgiveness is not an admission that you deserved what happened. Rather it is an expression of your faith and obedience to God. Following the example that He set for us, we do not hold on to the things of the past, but replace them with a new future through grace He provides.
Hebrews 10:16–18
I read a humorous story about a couple who were having a problem in their marriage. Years before, Saul had done something really dumb, and Ethel had chewed him out royally. After he apologized, they made up. But as time passed, Ethel would from time to time bring up what he had done. Finally Saul said, “Honey, why do you keep bringing up what I did? I thought you said you would forgive and forget.” “I have,” Ethel replied, “But I don’t want you to forget that I’ve forgiven and forgotten!”
All of us have suffered from unfair treatment or unjust punishment at one point or another. Many have endured abuse, hardship, and suffering that they in no way deserved or merited. The world is filled with sinful people, and sinful people act in sinful ways. While there are scars that do not go away, there is a plan laid out for us in the Word of God to keep us from having to live with the pain of the past on an ongoing basis. And that plan centers around forgiveness.
Many people struggle to forgive and let go because they think it means they have to say that what happened to them was justified. But forgiveness is not an admission that you deserved what happened. Rather it is an expression of your faith and obedience to God. Following the example that He set for us, we do not hold on to the things of the past, but replace them with a new future through grace He provides.
Today’s Growth Principle:
Do not let a lack of forgiveness keep you trapped in the hurts of the past for the rest of your life.
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