BIBLE READING: PHILIPPIANS 3:12–14 (KJV)
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
EXHORTATION
KEY VERSE:
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.”
— Philippians 3:13 (KJV)
Welcome to Mercy Speaking Devotional on this blessed Monday, September 28th. Today, we are considering Growing Beyond Your Past.
One of the most remarkable stories of transformation in Christian history is that of Augustine of Hippo. Augustine was born in Tagaste in North Africa in AD 354 and eventually became a bishop and one of the most influential Christian thinkers of the early church. However, the man people remember today did not begin his journey as a committed follower of Christ. His early adult life included spiritual searching, philosophical pursuits, moral failures and years of resistance to the Christian faith. His mother, Monica, prayed for him persistently, and eventually Augustine moved to Milan, Italy, where he came under the ministry of Bishop Ambrose.
In AD 386, while he was in a garden at his lodging in Milan, Augustine experienced the turning point of his life. According to his own account in Confessions, he was deeply troubled by the conflict between the life he had been living and the life he knew he should live before God. He eventually surrendered to Christ, and the following year he was baptized by Ambrose in Milan.
Augustine’s past did not disappear. What changed was the direction of his life. The same man who had spent years searching, struggling and making wrong choices became a devoted servant of Christ and later Bishop of Hippo. His story reminds us that a person’s past can explain where he has been without determining where God can take him.
This is important because many people struggle to move forward because they are constantly looking backward. They remember what they did, what someone did to them, opportunities they lost, relationships that ended, decisions they regret or seasons of life they wish they could change. Sometimes the memory becomes so strong that they begin to believe that their past is their identity.
Paul understood this struggle. His own past was not something he could simply erase from history. Before his encounter with Christ, he persecuted the church and actively opposed believers. Yet after meeting Jesus, Paul did not spend the rest of his life allowing his former life to prevent him from fulfilling his new calling.
When he wrote to the Philippians, he said that he was “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.”
Paul was not suggesting that Christians should pretend that their past never happened. He was teaching that the past must not become the controlling force of the present. There is a difference between remembering your past and remaining imprisoned by it. You may remember what happened without allowing it to determine what happens next.
Perhaps you made a decision years ago that you still regret. You cannot go back and change that decision, but you can learn from it. Perhaps somebody wounded you deeply. You cannot change what happened, but with God’s help you can pursue healing and refuse to allow bitterness to control your future. Perhaps you failed in an area of your life and have been carrying shame ever since. If you have confessed your sin and received God’s forgiveness, you do not need to continue living as though Christ’s sacrifice was insufficient.
This does not mean that repentance and accountability are unnecessary. If your past involves something that requires repentance, reconciliation or restitution, you should deal with it honestly. Christian maturity does not mean ignoring our mistakes. It means facing them honestly, receiving God’s grace and allowing Him to transform us.
Peter is another example. He denied Jesus three times. His failure was public and painful. Yet Jesus did not abandon Peter to his failure. After His resurrection, Jesus restored him and entrusted him with responsibility. Peter’s denial became part of his history, but it did not become the end of his usefulness to God.
The same principle applies to us. Your past may be part of your testimony, but it does not have to become your prison.
Sometimes the enemy keeps reminding you of who you were because he wants you to forget what Christ is doing in you. But the gospel tells us that anyone who is in Christ has entered into a new life. Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Growing beyond your past therefore requires you to receive what God has done, learn from what happened and continue walking forward. You may have lost time, but you still have today. You may have made mistakes, but God’s grace can still work in your life. You may have experienced rejection, but rejection does not have to determine your identity. You may have fallen, but falling does not mean that you must remain on the ground.
The important question is not only, “What happened to me?” It is also, “What is God doing in me now?”
Paul did not say that he had already arrived. He said he was pressing forward. That means spiritual growth is a continuing journey. God is still working on your character, your faith, your relationships, your understanding and your obedience.
Therefore, do not spend today’s strength fighting yesterday’s battles when God is calling you toward tomorrow’s assignment. Take the lessons from your past, but do not carry unnecessary guilt into your future. Receive God’s forgiveness where you have genuinely repented. Allow Him to heal what has been wounded. Make the changes He requires. Then continue walking with Him.
Your past may have influenced you, but it does not have to control you. Your mistakes may be part of your history, but they do not have to determine your destiny. If Christ has redeemed you, there is still purpose ahead of you.
Augustine’s life is a reminder of this. His early years were complicated, but his story did not end there. His encounter with Christ changed the direction of his life, and he went on to serve the church for decades.
Perhaps you are also standing at a point where you need to stop allowing yesterday to define today. You may not be able to change what happened, but you can decide what you will do with what happened. You can surrender it to God, learn from it and continue growing.
Paul’s words give us the right direction: look back enough to learn, but look forward enough to keep moving.
God is not finished with you.
There is still growth ahead. There is still grace available. There are still lessons to learn, opportunities to embrace and ways for your life to bring glory to Christ.
So, by God’s grace, grow beyond your past and keep pressing toward the future God has placed before you.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
What part of your past have you allowed to define you, and what would it mean to surrender it fully to Christ and move forward?
PRAYER POINTS
1. Father, I thank You for Your mercy and grace that have sustained me despite everything I have experienced and everything I have done.
2. Father, forgive me for my past sins, mistakes and wrong decisions. Help me to receive Your forgiveness and walk in the freedom Christ gives.
3. Lord Jesus, help me to stop allowing my past failures, disappointments and wounds to control my present life.
4. Father, heal every wound from my past that still affects my thoughts, relationships, confidence and walk with You.
5. Lord, give me wisdom to learn from my past without becoming imprisoned by it. Let my experiences produce maturity rather than bitterness.
6. Father, help me to press forward into Your purpose. Give me courage to embrace the opportunities and responsibilities You have prepared for my future.
7. Father, I thank You because my past does not have the final word. Thank You for the new life I have in Christ and for the future You are still building for Your glory, in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.
