Phil 3:13- 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.
How many of us have not wished we could change things about our past? Even the great Apostle Paul struggled at times with his horrid past of delivering Christians to their death (I Cor. 15:9). But when he turned to Christ, the very people he once hated, he became their brother and one of their greatest supporters! The enemy often threw Paul’s past at his face, for our brother was not an exempt when it came to testing, for even our Lord was tested but without sin (Heb. 4:15), yet Paul always looked to the future. Paul understood the principle of pressing. Although our past often comes to the forefront of our minds we must learn to press on. When your past comes before you have enough of the Word of God in you to counter the attack, and then press forward!
Don’t dwell in the past, for how can we go forward if we are always looking back? I nearly mess up one of the greatest accomplishments of life because of looking back. My track coach warned me of the dangers of looking behind me while running in a track meet. A runner is to never look back for it will slow down his or her progression forward. As the anchor man with a good lead, compliments of another great runner on my team, I gave my opponent the opportunity to make an attempt to catch up. We still won the four hundred meter eight man relay race, but I nearly destroyed a great moment in my life and the lives of others because of looking back. So do yourself a great service: forget those things which are behind you, and reach for those things that will give you a better future in the Lord.