“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,”
Philippians 3:13 NKJV
Some one needs to hear this…
It’s time to move on…
Like most people, I have experienced my fair share of challenges in 64 years of life, 45 years of being a Christ follower, 44 years of preaching the Gospel, 35 years of local church pastoring, and 5 years of pastoring pastors…
Disappointments
Injustice
Unfairness
Betrayal
False accusations
Disloyalty
Abandonment
Defaming
Offense
Abuse
Setbacks
Discouragement
Cruelty
Dishonesty
Manipulation
Witchcraft
And the list goes on…
Of course, some people’s lists are no doubt more severe and traumatic than mine…
Others less severe. But your list is significant because…
Well…
It’s your list…
It’s personal…
It hurts…
And for many, the painful story is seared in their psyche…
I have found that I can generate a thousand reasons to hold on to my scores of painful stories…
But then I remember Paul ostensibly reminding me…
It’s time to move on…
He penned those words in a Roman prison. Unjustly incarcerated by a demonically possessed emperor named Nero. I can assure you, Paul’s trauma probably trumps yours…
He too had experienced the “list” in exponential waves…
But he said…
It’s time to move forward…
We live in an era of incredible Christian fragility. We are paralyzed far too easily by life. We stagnate and atrophy at the slightest misfortune…
Like somehow we are promised a perfectly pleasant journey…
But that’s not reality and it’s certainly not the Bible…
For me…
I must move forward…
I’m not minimizing the trauma of the past, the people, or the problem…
I simply refuse to allow it to detour, distract, or define me…
Someone needs to hear this…
It’s time to move on…
Your nursing, rehearsing, and immersing yourself in the painful events of your life isn’t getting you to God’s purpose…
Your website, blog page, or social media posts lamenting your hurts continually for years is not healing you or motivating your progress…
Some have said through the years, “But Paul wrote of his pains and injustices”…
True…
But he also said things like, “His grace is sufficient for you” (2 Co. 12:9) -or- “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Co. 12:10).
There is a place in counseling or ministry for help in debriefing your pain. There is a place of illustration to help others through the personal hardships and calamities.
But you were never meant to live there…
It’s time to move on…
For some, their trauma becomes their identity. It is indeed what defines them. The trauma solicits pity, sympathy, empathy, and attention from others. To forget or move beyond such calamity feels like giving the perpetrator a free pass for the injustice. And the tricky part is neither denying the reality of the offense, nor elevating it to transcend the healing and empowering grace of God.
You will never find your future in a past chapter of your life…
You need, by God’s grace, to start writing the next chapter.
For some, moving on means a geographical change of scenery…
For others, it means emotionally letting go, giving it to God, and pressing on…
The phrase “reaching forward”, connotes a runner straining or stretching for the finish line. It is not analogous to shuffling or even jogging, but literally pressing into the tape no matter how tired or weak one may be.
It’s kind of like saying, “Suck it up buttercup”. It’s time to press through the internal wall of resistance. What did you think you signed up for? A walk in the park? Or, a marathon.
Someone needs to hear this…
It’s time to move on…
Release it, forgive it, lift it up, let it go, walk away, shake it off, give it to God, or whatever act fits the bill…
But move on…
Your future self will thank-you.
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