“They shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 51:11 NKJV
“The harsh reality is that you cannot change the past, but you can change today.”
My thoughts today are how to “make peace with your past.”
The past can be filled with warm and wonderful memories that add flavor to your days. I hope that is the way it will always be with you. But for some, the past is written in chapters you might like to edit or eliminate altogether. The harsh reality is that you cannot change the past; simply, it is past. You must realize that regretting it won’t change it. What it is, it is. “What I have written. I have written.” John 19:22 NIV. Not everything is changeable, but your interpretation and the effects of your past are changeable.
It is important to make peace with your past. You will pay a high price emotionally, relationally, and spiritually if you fail to pursue peace in your heart, mind, and relationships. It is hard to do, but you need to look beyond your regrets and see what good you can draw from previous experiences. What did you learn? Are you a better person than you were? However much you hurt at the time, you do not have to live out that hurt for the rest of your life.
Is it something that you did? Deal with that! First, make it right with God. Until that is done nothing else will work very well. Then you may need to reach out to someone. Did you involve them? Make restitution; seek reconciliation. “If it depends on you, as far as is possible live at peace with everybody.” Romans 12:18 NIV. You can’t fix everything of the past with everybody in your past, but you can try. When you have honestly done your best in humility and sincerity, then walk on in Christ’s freedom.
Is it something done to you? Don’t even think of getting even. The best way to “get even” is to get over it! Forgiveness is how you make peace with your past. There is no other answer until you truly forgive, as you have been forgiven. See Ephesians 4:29-32 NIV. Unforgiveness is the most unkind thing you can do to yourself; it will leave you a prisoner of your past. You can rehearse their wrong correctly, and justify why you are right, but you will not find release until you forgive from your heart. Forgiveness does not excuse the wrong done to you; it simply releases the offense into God’s hands. Read Romans 12:19-21 NIV.
The good news is that God promises that your “sorrow and sighing” can give way to joy and gladness. Wouldn’t that be a better conclusion to your story? Notice how that can happen. You “obtain” joy and gladness; it does not just unexplainably happen, nor can you create them for yourself. They are gifts God gives you and gifts you allow yourself, when your ”ways please the Lord.” Proverbs 16:7 NIV.
My prayer for you today is: be free to live carefree in every day of your future.