Leave the Past Behind
by Diana Scothorn
Over the years, I had a repeated cycle of dragging my past into my present. After failing in relationship after relationship, I got in the habit of bringing everything from one relationship to the next. Repeating bad habits is the perfect recipe for failure!
When we experience the sting of pain, it makes it difficult to forget. I’ve learned you don’t forget the memories of your past, but you…
…decide to leave the memory of your past behind!
Choosing to hang on to the pain of our past has the power to block the vision for our future. Philippians 3:13-14 states, “But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching towards those things which are ahead, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” We’re to be reaching ahead, not holding on to what is behind!
It’s human nature to hang on to our painful memories to self-protect our hearts. When we feel familiar pain, we immediately recognize, wait, I remember this pain. The key is not to let the memory of your past pain have permission to respond to your present situation. We tend to go back in time and respond very similarly to how we did when we first experienced it, and unfortunately, at that point, we start going backward
Jesus wants us to move forward! He wants us to give Him the pain and leave it with Him! Jesus wants us to live in peace, not pain. John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled.” When we carry the troubles of our past with us, the load becomes too heavy.
It would be like going to Hawaii on vacation and deciding to bring an enter suitcase that we packed for Switzerland the previous year filled with heavy winter coats. There are two obvious things wrong with this picture. There’s no need to take winter clothes on a summer vacation, and number two, it would be cumbersome lugging around an unneeded suitcase. The best solution is to leave the unwanted load behind.
Jesus will take our pain and the things that the devil meant to destroy us to prepare us for a beautiful future with a heart filled with gratitude. Jesus died so we could be forgiven! That’s enough to be grateful for in itself! Jesus took the pain of yesterday so we could glorify Him today! Thank you, Jesus, that you took our past to redefine our future!
Anything in our past that keeps us from moving forward, we must choose to leave behind! It’s up to me and you to settle it in our mind and decide to be done with it! If we forever hang on to our past, our past will forever hang on to us! It’s time to move on and lighten the load!
~Diana
Diana Scothorn has a heart for helping women succeed, with a focus on a strong, spiritual, mental, and physical core. Diana’s background in the health and fitness world began with one of the most iconic names in fitness, Richard Simons. Overseeing ladies’ health clubs for 10 plus years allowed Diana to step into a passion for marketplace ministry even before ministering the gospel in business was widely accepted.
She’s been married to her prince charming, Stewart, going on 12 years, and they enjoy spending time with their 4 kids and 8 grandchildren. Both are ordained ministers of the Gospel, serve on the board of several well-known ministries, and are also co-owners of, The Benefit Link, Inc., a market place ministry business, which has been number one in the field for over 25 years and is licensed in all 50 States, serving senior citizens in need of compassion, prayer, and guidance when facing the challenges of the Medicare maze.
Diana’s been featured in Society Magazine’s Successful Business Women of the Year for 2018, 2019, and 2020. As an international speaker, Diana has traveled abroad for over 10 years, along with her husband, to help support missions throughout Europe and South America, focusing on funding the Kingdom and advancing the gospel.
Connect with Diana on Instagram and Facebook, where she has “Diana’s Daily Devotionals” encouraging and inspiring women to live daily in victory.
