Thoughts of Failures and Disappointments

But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. Philippians 3:13

Failures and disappointments. Aches and pains from past thoughts that just won’t seem to go away. Most of us know what it’s like to suffer from them but too few of us know just what to do about them. So we limp along, hoping somehow they’ll magically stop hurting. Consider Paul. If the devil had anything to bring against Paul, it would be thoughts of how he had persecuted the early church and caused the deaths of many, including Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Paul had done horrendous things that were hard for him to forget. But he had such a revelation of God’s awesome forgiveness that he could say, “forgetting those things which are behind… I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”.

Why is it that in the natural state of man, the passing of time often leaves us in worse condition–not better. Because, instead of putting those painful thoughts about failures behind us, we often dwell on them until they become more real to us than the promises of God. We focus on them until we become bogged down in depression, frozen in our tracks by the fear that if we go on, we’ll only fail again.

Thoughts of Your Future in Jesus

I used to get caught in the trap of thinking I will just fail again. Then one day when I was right in the middle of a bout with depression, the Lord spoke up inside me and said:

“Your problem is you’re forming your thoughts off the past instead of the future. Don’t do that! Unbelief looks at the past and says, “See, it can’t be done.” But faith looks at the future and says, “It can be done, and according to the promises of God, it is done!” Then putting past failures behind it forever, faith steps out and acts like the victory’s already been won.

If depression has driven you into a spiritual nosedive, break out of it by getting your eyes off the past and onto your future–a future that’s been guaranteed by Christ Jesus through the great and precious promises in His Word.

Forget about those failures in the past! That’s what God has done Hebrews 8:12. And if He doesn’t remember them anymore, why should you?

Replace Thoughts of Yesterday

The Bible says God’s mercies are new every morning. So if you’ll take God at His Word, you can wake up every morning to a brand-new world. You can live life totally unhindered by the past.

So, do it! Replace the thoughts of yesterday’s mistakes with scriptural promises about your future. As you do that, hope will start taking the place of depression. The spiritual aches and pains that crippled you for so long will quickly disappear. Instead of looking behind you and saying, “I can’t,” look ahead and say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” Let your thoughts become absorbed in God’s Word which says you can become victorious over all the bad thoughts of the past.