Are you one who believes your present problems are the consequence of deep past hurts beyond your power to remove? Do you think that if you can uncover the pain of the past you can fix the present? Is this healthy thinking?
Suppose you suffered some kind of physical injury, a deep cut in some part of your body. Instead of allowing the wound to be stitched up so that it could scab over and heal, you instead keep the wound open, constantly picking away scabs and making certain the bleeding continues. Would you think that wise or healthy? (I hope NOT!)
Well, do you suppose that God designed our psyche in similar ways? You may have suffered some great hurt in the past. There are a whole host of things that could serve as examples. There is a natural psychical healing process that can insulate us from past damage. As time progresses, memories begin to blur, some of the sharp edges come off, and eventually the pain of past events is barely remembered if at all. That is the natural process, God-designed for psychic health.
But, you say, my pain is very deep and it affects everything I do! I can’t cope with it! I can’t form good relationships because of it!
Well, you probably did have a very bad experience in the past. I won’t deny it! But have you made your past problem a present problem by keeping the pain fresh and the focus sharp? Have you simply brooded on the issues, filling your heart with rage? Did you have ways of ‘acting out’ against your old tormentor that you continue to use to ‘act out’ against your family members today? Do you really want to put the past behind you?
The Psalmist spoke of a blessing received from God, where his past was turned into blessing:
Psa 30:11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
Wouldn’t you like that to be your testimony also?
These are some of the lessons you must learn:
- Forgiveness
- Vengeance belongs to God
- Beauty from ashes
- Forgetting
Forgiveness because as long as you carry your past pain around in the present, you are letting the past dominate you. Your troubler is probably long gone, he can’t hurt you any more, unless you allow him to. Yes, what was done in the past was wrong. Hanging on to it won’t make it right and it certainly won’t make it better.
Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
(Mt 18.21-22)
A little hard? You’re right. You will need supernatural power from God for this, but God is willing to give you grace, then you can forgive.
Vengeance belongs to God: Did you ever hear of the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s? They were real people and they had a real feud. (I know it’s true because I read it in the newspaper!) How did the vengeance thing work out with them? You can never exact justice by hanging on to the past and lashing out at people in the present. You will only compound your problems and cause others to have bad memories of you.
‘Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.’ (Dt 32.35)
"VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. (Rm 12.19)
Beauty from ashes: We already quoted a verse about turning mourning into dancing – your painful experiences can dominate and defeat you or they can become a springboard to a positive future.
One of the patriarchs of Israel was sold into slavery by his own brothers. When it was all discovered, they were worried that he would take vengeance against them. I am sure they were relieved that Joseph left vengeance with the Lord and saw the good that came from it: the saving of his whole family from famine and death.
"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. (Gen 50.20)
Forgetting may be the last thing you think you can do, but forgetting isn’t just passive, waiting for your head to stop talking to you, instead, it is active. It is a decision, a choice, that refuses to remember any more. When the mind conjures up the past, the forgiving and forgetting soul resolutely pushes the thought out of the mind and thinks on something else. Choosing not to remember is the key to forgetting.
That is how God treats our sins, if we are in a saving relationship with him. God knows all things, everything from the beginning of time to the end. How can God ‘forget’ anything? He chooses not to remember the sins of his forgiven saints. He won’t remember them against them, he chooses to forget.
"I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." (Hb 10.17)
The forgiveness of God is the real first step in solving the problems of your past and your present.
If you would like counsel from God’s word about troubles from your past, please contact us on the contact links for this site.
— Pastor Don
Leave a Reply