Letting Go and Pressing On
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“…I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3:13, 14, NLT)
Theater critic, Brooks Atkinson, once said, “Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect.” Drop, let go, forget – that’s easier said than done. People, events, and circumstances of this past year—perhaps past years—continue to nag at us. Disappointments, betrayals, and losses creep into our minds to disturb the peace that God promises.
How do we move on when our spirits have been wounded, or our families disrupted?
Several words used by the apostle Paul give us clues about the process so necessary for forward movement. First there is the word “focus,” meaning to concentrate on. Instead of allowing our thoughts to meander into the morass of the past, we choose to deliberately think of the future. This in no way means denial, but rather a purposeful action involving looking ahead to what God may have in store.
What about “forget”? This word has within it the idea of neglect, e.g., giving less weight to what has happened in the past, refusing to dwell on those things that disturb our peace and threaten the future God has planned for us.
And then there is “press on.” Here I imagine a runner, surrounded by competitors, just about to cross the finish line. The race has been long, the runner is almost exhausted and she finally sees the ribbon extended across her path. Determined to win the race and knowing that any part of her body must cross that ribbon in order for victory to be declared, she stretches out her arms—she presses on.
This is not a once-a-year process, but rather a daily examination of the hours just past and the glorious future of the day ahead. The heavenly prize is definitely within reach. Let go. Press on.
Question: How has God helped you move beyond hurt and into forgiveness and freedom?
12 Responses to “Letting Go and Pressing On”
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Hi Sherry, let me invite you to talk with one of our online mentors. God often speaks to us through other Christians. If you fill out the Mentor Request Form at http://powertochange.com/experience/talk-to-a-mentor a mentor will send you an email and help you look to the Holy Spirit’s healing of your past.
Lord help me to leave my trobubled past behind forgive all who hurt me and to move on
Amen
Lizie, I have to agree with Claire regarding dealing with the loss of someone you love…you never forget that person. I know Marilyn personally and she herself lost a son to cancer and I know she hasn’t forgotten him. But she also hasn’t let her life be defined by that loss and has continued to trust in God and put her hope in Him.
Lori, you said it so well, that He not only comforts us but also carries us through our suffering. He is the one that gives peace in the midst of the suffering and loss.
Christ Jesus comforts us, even carries us through our suffering. He is the reason we can press on. He is the reason we can focus. He is the reason we can (we are able) to obtain peace in our lives. Without Jesus; His sacrifice this (peace) is not possible to obtain. The issue (here) is semantics. We believe in Christ, and God gives us peace, or we can dwell and be miserable in our suffering, and even have more suffering bc of our disbelief. There is an abundance of suffering in the worLd, more suffering than peace. It’s not about me, and I am not the only one who suffers. “Forget” is just a word, and I’m not offended by it, I am blessed by it very very much. Evil has power over us, and we even allow semantics to cause conflict between us; sadly. Thank you Ms. Colvin for explaining this so brilliantly. I am always very blessed by these devotionals, which I read every single morning. God bless you.
Lizie, Thank you for taking the time to comment. I don’t think that Marilyn was talking about forgetting a person you loved. If you look at the verses that come just before this one, Paul is talking about wanting to be a better Christian, how he hasn’t attained that yet but is striving toward it. When he speaks of “forgetting the past” I think he, and in turn Marilyn, are talking about letting go of past mistakes and failures.
You don’t forget a loved one, but you do have to find a way to live with their loss. A friend of mine who lost her father at a young age said that it’s a bit like losing your leg. You never get over it, you don’t stop missing your leg, you just learn how to hop. You have to find a different way to live because something that was supposed to be there is gone.
I think it’s a balance, and as I said to Amber, it’s a learning process. You can’t walk forward while only looking at what is behind you (tend to lead to crashing into things), but you can’t, you wouldn’t want to, lose the memory of this person you loved. The work is in the balance of it, focussing on the good memories, remembering them and trying not to stay stuck in those days when the pain is so raw it takes your breath away.
Does that make sense? If not, please feel free to write back and I’ll try to explain it better.
Amber,
I am sorry to hear that you found today’s devotional hurtful. That is never our intention, but you came here and were hurt by something that you read, and for that I truly am sorry. I don’t think that Marilyn was saying that you should just pretend that this awful thing did not happen, rather she was saying that if something in our past becomes our point of reference it makes it very difficult to move on, to begin to heal.
I can hear a lot of pain in your comment. I have to disagree about what you said about a false hope. Hope in God is not false. God clearly promises that He has plans for each of us – plans to give us hope and a future. (Jer 29:11). That hope includes you. I cannot imagine what it is that you have suffered, but I do believe that God has good things planned for you. Isaiah 40:31 promises that, “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Hope in God is not misplaced hope.
I would never want to minimize what has happened to you, but I do believe that if any of us are going to begin to heal from pain then we have to work through the process of letting go of it. That doesn’t mean that we pretend it never happened or that we weren’t hurt to begin with. But it means that we begin to do the hard work of learning how to trust again (not the person who hurt us, but people in general and God in specific). We have to learn how to go back out into the world, how to let people get close to us again and part of that process is letting go of some of that pain, thinking about it a little less so that there is room in our minds to think about something good.
It’s not a quick process nor is it an easy one, but it is necessary. You may find that you need some extra help to walk that road, especially if what you experienced was particularly hard. I hope that you are able to walk that road and that there will come a day when what happened to you is only a part of your story and not your entire story.
I hope there comes a day when it is easier to live with, when the pain gets smaller.
This was very timely for me – not at all easy to hear but I came to this devotional feeling as if I was ready to meet with God and hear what he had to say for the first time in a very long time (maybe three or more years actually). Three years ago something horrific happened to me – a difficult and tragic bereavement. I will never forget the person I lost and what happened to her will always be a source of great sadness but I have finally realised that my grief does not have to cause the end of my relationship with Christ. So now I’m ready, finally, to press on. I know that there is work to be done between God and I as I work out what “forgetting” means in this context and how to hold the memories and live with the pain whilst still “pressing on” in faith.
Hi Marilyn,
I’m struggling to understand the term ‘forget’ and the way you explain it makes it complicated to me. In the case of losing a loved one, how do you “forget” in a quest on “not dwelling in the past”?
It was very hurtful & I noticed u were “careful” to use the wording “What God may have in the future” not what he has as you don’t want to give false hope that things will get any better. I can assure you that things just get worse. I would be careful to disregard the PAIN that people like myself have suffered and the reckless manner others have treated us! We don’t just simply “Forget” it. Especially, when we gave good & received ill!! :’)
Hi, Pressing on to me, is to love in all circumstances, regardless. When I remind myself to love others, my perspective changes immediately. Most often it will give me insight and it will bring peace…So thankful for God’s grace and for His wisdom and insight on every circumstance. To think I have the “ability” and the “opportunity” to have the attributes of Jesus Christ is such a gift, and it totally erases the pain of this worLd… and pulls me closer to God Himself. It’s the only way I’ve learned over the years to “press on”. It’s just not about me.
by spending time the Word OF GOD, medatating, listening to spiritual music. Just concentrating on GOD, holding on to His word and beliving and having faith. Going for long walks helps too.
I let go and let God take over. And i speak the word of God Phil.3:12,14