Once you become saved and born again, the Bible tells us that we have now become new creations in Jesus Christ. Our slates have now been wiped fully clean, and we have now been given a brand new start in this life if we are willing to properly work with the Lord and allow Him to raise us up in His knowledge, grace, and power.
As I have stated numerous times in my other articles, the next step after you have been saved is to fully surrender your entire life into the hands of God the Father so that He is fully free to lead you into His perfect plan and destiny for your life. You must now be willing to make Jesus Lord over your life, not just your Savior.
You must now become both saved and surrendered if you want to get anywhere in your new life with the Lord.
Making Jesus Lord over your life means that you are now willing turn the reins of your life over to Him, and He will now lead your life into the specific directions He will want it to go in.
You are now no longer your own.
You have been bought back by God the Father at the price of His Son’s shed blood. You now belong to God and Jesus and no one else in this life – which includes yourself, your family, and your best friends!
Once you enter into this full surrender with the Lord, one of the first things God may do with many of you is to take you back in your past so He can begin to clean up any wreckage that may have occurred. Before you can really move forward into the divine destiny that God has in store for you in this life, you first may have to deal with some specific things that may have occurred in your past.
The reason for this is because too many Christians are bound up in their past – and as a result, they cannot fully live in their present.
Before you can really start to move forward in your divine destiny with the Lord – you will first have to learn how to let your past fully go.
Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul make two very profound and life-altering statements in the two verses I will give you in this article. For many, these two specific verses will determine whether or not you will be able to fully succeed in the divine call that God has placed on your life.
As a result of the curse of Adam and Eve that is still in full operation on this earth, we are all forced to be born into a fallen and cursed world.
We are all stuck having to deal with the reality of pure evil in our lives through the activity of demonic spirits and bad and evil people who have chosen with their own free wills to live this life out on the dark side.
As a result, every single one of us will get hurt to some degree and to some extent in this life. There is no getting around it. And for many, some of these hurts will end up being extreme and traumatic.
Every minute of every day someone is getting murdered, robbed, abused, or abducted. We literally cannot go one day without some kind of this activity being reported on our local news channels. Jesus Himself said that a certain amount of tribulation and persecution would always come our way in this life.
This is why the Bible tells us that we have to learn how to become good soldiers of Jesus Christ and learn how to put on and apply the real armor of God for our lives.
We have all been born into a war zone as a result of the curse of Adam and Eve – and unless you learn how to walk in the power and anointing of God for your life – some of these torpedo shots may knock you right out of your dvine call in the Lord, if not possibly knock you right out of this life for good through an actual early physical death.
All of us to some degree have issues from our past that have to be properly dealt with before we can really proceed to walk into the perfect plan of God for our lives.
Some Christians are so bound up with some of the things that has happened to them in their past – that they literally cannot get off the couch to start living again, much less ever fully fly into their divine destinies for the Lord.
Many of God’s eagles have had their wings totally broken and decimated with some of the torpedo shots they have taken. Many of them are living on anti-depressants and pain killers because they can no longer handle the stress, pain, and heartache of this life.
Before an eagle of God can really start to fly into the heights that God has in store for them in this life – that eagle has got to break off any chains that may be holding them back.
These chains are keeping some of God’s eagles grounded. And for many of God’s eagles – some of these chains are things they are still holding onto from their past.
Jesus has said that He has come to set the captives free – and one of the main areas that we all have to be set free from is some of our wrong thinking that may have arisen out of some of the bad things that may have occurred in our past.
As you will see in the two verses I will list below, Jesus and the apostle Paul are telling us that we have to learn how to let go of our past. Jesus says that anyone who is trying to move forward in his walk and call for God – but keeps looking back – is not fit for the kingdom of God.
Paul says that the one thing he makes sure to do in his walk with the Lord is to forget those things which are behind him and press forward into those things which now lie ahead of him.
Once you put these two verses together, one right next to the other, you get perfect revelation from the Lord on this issue.
Bottom line – you have to learn how to let fully go of your past before you can start to proceed full steam ahead in your divine destiny for the Lord.
If you do not learn how to let your past fully go – you will stay stuck and grounded right where you are at, and you will never fully accomplish everything that God would’ve had in store for you in this life.
And that will be an eternal regret that you will carry with you once you enter into heaven and the Lord shows you how much more you could have accomplished for Him in this life had you allowed Him to unchain you from your hurtful past. The choice is yours.
You can either choose to stay fully bound up in your past, continue to throw pity parties and blame everyone and everything for your miseries – or you can choose to rise up and make a brand new fresh start with the Lord by choosing to fully surrender your entire life into His hands – and then work with Him to get your past fully cleaned up so that you can then start to fully live in the present again, and then fly into the divine destiny that He has already planned out for your life.
For many of you who are severely bound up with things that may have occurred in your past – realize that God will give you an ample and reasonable amount of time to get your past cleaned up.
Many of you will need an inner healing from the Lord on certain issues.
Though the two verses I will list below state that God wants you to let go of your past so you can fully fly into what He has in store for you in this life – God will not expect some of you to make this kind of quantum leap overnight, especially if some of your past hurts have been extreme and traumatic.
One of the things I have found out in my own personal journey with the Lord is what happens after you initially enter into this full surrender with Him.
What God will do with you is take you back in your memory lane and bring back up to your remembrance many things that have occurred in your past.
The reason He will do this is so you can learn from your past. He will show you where He was at and where He was not at on certain things.
He will show you some of the good things you did and some of the bad things you did so you can learn from those past mistakes and not repeat them in the future.
He will show you how He has been behind the scenes the entire time, and how He eventually ended up working out some of the bad things for His and your own good with the way some of these things ended up working out.
He will show you the extreme consequences of not fully following Him in this life, and that some of the bad things that may have happened to you were as a result of you making your own decisions without consulting Him first – not being aware of the dangers that were around that corner you were getting ready to turn into.
When God does begin to do this kind of deeper inner work with you – go with Him on it. Let Him show you the truth on many of the different matters of your past.
If you do, then His truth will start to work to help set you free – no matter how bad some of the things may have been in your past.
God can fully heal you and break off any past chain if you are willing to believe that He can do it for you.
Some of God’s people are bound up with false chains of guilt as a result of some of the sexual molestations that may have occurred in their dysfunctional families. God can fully break these types of chains off you, no matter how bad or how severe you think they may be.
The Holy Spirit is the Master Surgeon. He is the One who will be getting down deep into where these hurts and pains are located. If you are willing to work and cooperate with Him during this inner healing process, He will be able to cut out and completely take away most, if not all of the hurt, pain, and trauma associated with some of these painful events.
I will end this article with some of the specific areas the Lord will target once you open up to Him to get your past cleaned up so you can start to fully live again in your present.
But here is the point you will really need to grab a hold of off the wording of these two Scripture verses.
God will take you back in your past for a reasonable length of time so you can directly deal with certain issues and problem areas He will want to target.
But after that time and season has past – you will then need to let your past fully go and concentrate and focus on the present and future as to where God will now be taking you.
There will simply come a day and time that you will have to let your past and all of the hurts from your past completely go.
If you don’t – you will stay stuck, grounded, and paralyzed in your walk with the Lord.
You will never able to fly off the edge of that cliff into the freedom and adventure that God has in store for you in this life unless you first learn how to let your past fully go.
This principle is a basic 101 principle that each and every single Christian has got to get worked into their mindsets.
This basic principle could be one of the major determining factors as to whether or not you ever fly off that cliff into the divine path that God has set up for you to follow in this life.
Many of God’s eagles never learn to fly with the wings that He has given them because they could not get unbound from the chains of their hurtful past.
As a result, many of God’s eagles will lose their one and only chance to leave their mark in this world in the divine destiny that He has set up for their lives.
I believe this is why the Bible says that many are called, but few are chosen.
Many of God’s people are being called to come up into His higher calling for their lives – but many of them are not being chosen because they simply could not let go of their hurtful past.
The choice to learn how to let your past fully go so you can start to fully live again in your present is an individual choice for each believer.
Not even God Himself will override your free will in this area. All God can do is give you the knowledge from His Word that this is what He really wants from you, with all of it being for your own good. And then God will take you back in your past for a reasonable amount of time so you can get all of your loose ends cleaned up and tied up.
But after that time is up, God will then expect you to make a very important decision for your life.
Will you now let your past fully go so you can fly into the divine destiny that He has set up for your life – or will you choose to stay stuck and grounded, wailing in the misery of your past?
Each Christian will have to make this choice for themselves. This is why the Bible says that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. You have to learn how to develop right thinking in your thought process with how you think about and view things. And one of the first basic things you will need to learn to think right about is how to fully let go of your past.
Learn how to let fully go of your past with the help of the Holy Spirit – and then you can step from the dugout out onto the real playing field where the real action is really at with the Lord!
The Bible Scripture Verses For Letting Go Of Your Past
1. This first verse is coming directly from Jesus Himself. Here is what He has to say about this basic principle:
But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)
Notice Jesus says that “no one” who keeps looking back on his past is fit for His kingdom. The words “no one” is an all-inclusive word. It means all of us – no exceptions.
In other words, Jesus is wanting all of us to get a grip on this revelation and get it properly worked into our mindsets so we can all plow straight ahead into the calls and divine destinies that He has in store for us in this life.
2. The second verse is coming from the apostle Paul. Paul really puts this revelation in proper perspective in relation to the big picture. Here is how he puts it:
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 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. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12)
Notice Paul starts out the second part of this verse with the words “but one thing I do.” And then from there he goes into the revelation of not looking at what is behind him, but looking and reaching forward for those things which now lie ahead of him.
The words “but one thing I do” is being put in the context of something that he is really making sure that he does on a regular and consistent basis.
This particular revelation is one that you will really have to stay on top of and not let get away from you. It’s very easy to start falling back on all of the bad things that may have occurred in your past, and then use that as an excuse to start feeling sorry for yourself, or to justify some of the irrational things you may be doing.
Just because your parents may have physically abused you does not give you the right to physically abuse your own children. Just because one of your dysfunctional parents may have been an alcoholic does not mean you have to become an alcoholic yourself.
Then notice Paul ends this verse really putting everything in proper perspective when he says that what he is wanting to press forward on is the “upward call of God.”
God the Father has a specific plan and destiny for each person who will come to Him and fully surrender their entire lives into His hands. But you will never be able to press forward and fly into this upward and high calling unless you first learn how to let go of your past.
Both of these verses perfectly and beautifully capture this basic 101 principle.
This particular principle is, without any question, a major, basic, fundamental principle that each and every Christian has to get worked into their mindset and way of thinking in this life. For many, it will be the difference as to whether or not they fully accomplish everything that God has set out for them to do in His perfect plan for their lives.
Conclusion
All of us have a certain amount of baggage that we carry from our past. Some of us carry lighter loads than others.
Some have learned how to let go of their past because they have found out that it will seriously damage their walk with the Lord and what He wants to do with their lives.
They have found that carrying around some of the baggage from their past and constantly dwelling on it will steal their joy and happiness in the Lord.
They have found that it will distort and warp their thinking. These kinds of people have managed to break away from their past so they can fully live and operate in the call of God for their lives.
But many other people have not managed to break free from their past. They are still mired down in the hurts and injustices of their past and cannot seem to get any victory over any of it – either in their thinking or in their emotions.
1. For those of you who are still stuck in your past to some degree – ask God to help you out with all of this.
If you are willing to enter into a full surrender with Him, then He will start to move and help break you free from your hurtful past. Work with the Holy Spirit once He starts to show you the specific areas from your past that He will want to target.
Here are some specific areas from your past that you can expect the Holy Spirit to move in on very strongly if any of these are in your past and background.
- Broken marriages
- Physical abuse
- Extreme verbal abuse
- Being a victim of any kind of crime
- Dysfunctional families
- Death of a close loved one
- Any type of financial disaster
All of these are serious torpedo shots that can knock many of us straight to the ground, especially if some of this has occurred when you were at a young age.
When dealing with people who have been seriously hurt or injured like what you see with victims of any kind of crime or sexual or physical abuse – the first thing God will ask you to do is to fully forgive the person who has wronged or injured you, no matter how bad and how vicious that wrong may have been.
We have another article in our site in the Psychological Issues page on dealing specifically with the hurts you may have suffered at the hands of someone else.
The title of this article is “How to Handle Negative Feelings When Wronged by Someone Else.”
Before God can move to supernaturally heal you from the pain, torment, and wounds that were inflicted upon you in your past – you will first have to be willing to fully forgive this person and let that person go into the hands of God for His vengeance, justice, and payback. God will be righting all of the wrongs ever done to you in this life when everything is all finally said and done.
This is why you can let the worst of your enemies go into the hands of God.
If you are willing to truly forgive this person, then God will move in – and through the power of the Holy Spirit, heal up those wounds so you can no longer feel them. God will not take away the actual memory of the event, but He can take away the actual pain, trauma, and torment associated with the event so you can then get on with the rest of your life and not have to keep thinking about it all of the time.
For those of you who have been severely affected over the death of a close loved one – we have another article in our site titled, “A Powerful Word for Those Who Have Lost Loved Ones,” in the Psychological Issues section.
In this article, a young couple who were faithfully serving God lost their daughter at a very young age. As a result of her early death, neither one of them could get over it, and it then started to hinder their walk with God and what He was wanting to do with their lives.
They finally received a very liberating word from the Holy Spirit that finally set them free so they could start living again in their present.
For those of you who have been severely hurt and wounded in a marriage as a result of infidelity or abuse in the marriage – realize that God can fully heal your mind, your emotions, and your heart on the inside so you can start to fully function once again in the real world and get on with what He has in store for you in your future.
Many marriages have ended up in divorce as a result of a person choosing to marry who they thought was best suited for them instead of asking God for His direct opinion on the matter.
Next time, make sure you let God lead you to the mate of His choice – not your choice! You have no idea how some people can change for the worse in your future – but God can – and that is why you have to rely on His knowledge and wisdom as to who you should be marrying in this life.
For those who have been brought up in very dysfunctional families – realize that God, His Word, and His truth can set you free from some of the warped and distorted thinking that may have occurred in your dysfunctional family. God can show you the errors of their thinking and the errors of their ways so that it does not contaminate you with what He wants to do with your life.
The Bible says the truth will set you free. God will make sure to get the appropriate truths revealed to you so you can fully understand some of the dysfunctional behavior that was occurring in your family, and help separate truth from error so you do not fall victim to the same type of distorted and warped thinking in your own adult life.
2. When God wants us to learn how to let the past fully go, I believe He is targeting more of the bad things in our past – especially the things that will really play with our minds and emotions where our hearts can start to harden up, and our thinking can start to become distorted, warped, and unhealthy.
We all have many good things from our past. We all have a certain amount of treasured memories that we will never forget.
God wants us to keep all of these good memories fully intact. There is no harm in going back down memory lane from time to time with many of the good things that may have occurred in our past.
Our past is a part of who we are and who we have become in the Lord. Even some of the bad things in our past have been used by God to shape, mold, and transform us into the kind of person He wants us to become in Him.
What I believe Jesus and Paul are trying to tell us in the above two verses is that we cannot allow some of the bad things that may have happened in our past affect our thinking and our ability to want to live with full intensity for the Lord.
You only get one chance in the eternal scheme of things to leave your mark in this world to some degree for the Lord. God has a specific plan and purpose for your life.
He has a list of divine assignments that He wants you to complete for Him before you go home to be with Him for all of eternity.
Do not let a few bad apples and a few bad events – no matter how bad they may have been – stop and prevent you from becoming everything that God is calling you to become in Him.
Jesus says in the Book of Revelation that those who are overcomers in this life will be the ones to rule the nations of the world with Him.
You can overcome any of the bad people and any of the bad events from your past with the divine help of the Holy Spirit. God’s supernatural help can pull you out of any of the bad and negative emotions that may be preventing you from entering into His perfect plan for your life.
But like Peter and his story of getting out of the boat to supernaturally walk on water – you will have to be willing to step out of the boat, grab a hold of God’s hand, and work with the Holy Spirit to help get you cleaned up so you can fully and finally let your past go.
Once you are able to let your past fully go – then you will be ready to fly as a true eagle of God into the divine plan that He has set up for you and your life.
The choice is yours. You can either choose to let the hurts, wounds, and pains from your past continue to strangle and paralyze you – or you can choose to say enough is enough and give God a chance and a green light to free you from some of the bad things that may have occurred in your past.
His power and His help is right there for you if you are willing to take His hand and allow Him to bring you up out of it!
Question – Has This Been a Struggle For You? Go ahead and leave your comments.
My past shows a lot yet something happened to me when I was younger and I recently had something occur. That has happened and it was like my mind and body was possessed, yet I realized what happened and turned my life over to God yet I feel much better about my life yet I need guidance to help me move forward
Im still trying very hard to be close to the Lord Because my life is a mass my family never open up about so many things and I’ve been praying in my heart that God must revil things to me and guide me .I wanna be close to Him, Ireally need prayers because I dont even have a job, Im struggling with so many things and sometimes i feel lonely, I want to talk but with whom?It really hurts to live a life of shame and sorrow because of denaying parents.
thank you…
Letting go of the past is the hardest thing a person can do in this life. My past regrets and mistakes have put me into clinical depression 3 times in my life. God is the answer but once we get so far in our misery it harder to climb out, impossible with God.
This is such a fantastic article, I have always had a close relationship with God, but this helps put into perspective all of my questions. I too have had many past hurts through family and relationships. So much heartache, I try very hard not to look back and I do realize when I do look back and dwell things are not right in my walk with God. But when I ask for his help in forgiving and moving past all seems to move smoothly. The Lord only wants the best for us and speaking with the Holy Spirit and God our Father every day several times a day helps keep us in the present. May each of us conitnue to search our hearts, forgive our pasts and move into what God has in store.
Yes! That is so true, and very much like my life rite now, we do have to, and be willing to, let go of the past, I want to, and am willing to let go of my past totally. So I can be who GOD has called me to be! And walk in my divine destiny that GOD has planned for me! Thank you!! LORD GOD!!
I just wanted to commend you on this fantastic article. I can so related to what it is saying and I have also experienced GOD working in my life. I like to use the analogy when I tell my story, that I was a rug, where all the dirt was swept under. Then one day, GOD in all his sovernty and omniscience saw that this rug was dirty and shook it out. I have never been the same. I have had all that you listed above in the specific areas from my past happen to me. And you are ever so correct when you say you can expect the Holy Spirit to move in very strongly if any of these are in your past and background. I have forgiven all that have harmed me in my past, and I have a peace that as related to the bible, that surpasses all understanding. I no longer have hurst from the past, even when the dysfunctional family I was once apart of, I know just pray for their deliverance in hopes that find the Savior as I have. WHen I have that feeling I would like to walk thru the past of hurts, the Holy Spirit reminds me of the times I have tried to do it all myself and faith. The best think I ever did, was call on GOD in a time I thought I couldn’t even breathe, and HE brought me thru. It wasn’t instantaneous. It evolved over some time, but I remained reading GOD’s will for my life. Went to church faithfully (which I still do), prayed regularly and sat back and watched HIM work in my life. Remember, obedience is better than sacrifice!!! To GOD be the Glory!!! I will ensure that I share this article and hope that it brings comfort to any hurting souls that I know of. And for the few commentors above (or below leaving comments), the tallest you will ever stand is on your knees. Take all your troubles to HIM, talk to HIM, HE wants to hear from you. Do not rely in man, GOD is all that you need, if you just call on HIM, in all you think, say and do!!! Then sit back and watch HIM work it out in your life. In God’s Amazing Grace I Serve!
This is exactly what is going on for me now: I had been abused repeatedly by so many people in my childhood and early adulthood. More abuse happened in my marriage and we were separated by legal authorities for safety reasons. During the months we have been apart, God has shown the scars left by the abusiveness of those various people in my life and what bad things I was doing as a result, and allowed me to fully lean on Him so I can heal, finally let go of the past, and move on with life and the wonderful miracles of health, happiness, family and wealth He has in store for me and my family. I know I’m meant to tell my story to millions of people, but I don’t know how yet. Ah well, I suppose He will reveal all of that in the months to come….God bless!
Thank you for this article!! It has literally changed my life!! 2011 was the year of reconnections for me and alot has happened to me and I am fully ready to put the past fully behind me and press towards fulfillment of my Divine Purpose and destiny of my life and 2012 will be the year of its fulfillment. I am a Christian Patriot and not only am I pressing forward towards the Kingdom of God and my Salvation in Jesus Christ but am in the battle to restore America’s Constitution. For those who want to understand more of what I am talking about, please watch the 30 min cartoon called, “The American Dream Cartoon” on youtube and read “Billions For the Bankers, Debts For the People” by Pastor Sheldon Emry. May both the physical and spiritual truths set us all FREE! John 8:32
This article has helped so much. God spoke directly to me and I will FULLY let go of the past hurts and EMBRACE the present. We need to realize IT COULD’VE BEEN WORSE,GOD NEVER PUTS MIRE ON US THAN WE CAN BEAR.. THANK YOU LORD FOR BEVERAGES LEAVING ME AND FOR THE STRENGTH U GAVE ME TO ENDURE.
I can let go of the hurt done to me, and forgive. What I cannot seem to release – AT ALL – is the harm I have done to others. Thinking of pain inflicted on people I’ve loved is unbearable. And some of them are not here anymore to ask forgiveness. Does Christ really mean for sinners like me to not look back? Does our regret alone redeem us?
Perhaps the hardest thing to do is to forgive yourself for past mistakes and hurts done to others. I found that in order to forgive myself I prayed that God would give me the strength and courage to forgive myself and move on, because until you forgive yourself you aren’t really free to enjoy God’s peace. For me self forgiveness was the hardest thing to do because of the feelings of guilt that Satan tries to use to bind you and hold you back.
You know, I haven’t gotten the chance to read this whole thing (I have like a few paragraphs left), but I want to say that this is awesome. God truly must have wanted me to read this, because is the first link I clicked when I looked up how to let go of your past. I love this. It’s amazing. May God bless us all and truly help us to let GO OF OUR PAST!
I used to practise onanism a lot, but Jesus washed me and my bedsheets clean of the stain of my sin. Praise be to the Lord for he hath dried up my endless flow of seed and replaced it with a flow of pure knowledge. I lust not after the daughters of Eve but yearn for the truths of my Father.
Thanku so much for this article.I recently separated from my husband and finding it really hard to forgive him and myself for how much pain have we given to eachother and all people who care for our well being.my husband had many realtions in his past and he could never let gp of anyone of them instead pilled them up.As a result when i came in his life he compared these past experience with his present. This didn’t let me breathe.Reading this article i realised maybe my husband had his own reasons of doing that i should have understood.I can now let go of what ever happened in the past and refresh my life by forgiving my husband and apologising to Almighty! for my mistakes. Amen! thanks a ton
This article details nicely the hurts done to you by others, but what about the sins you committed against yourself and others? My present situation is a direct result of my own foolishness, selfishness and sloth. My past is presently affecting my ability to to find employment and provide for my son. It would be far easier to forgive someone else for their transgressions than it is to forgive myself, but I have messed up so badly that it would take a miracle to set things right again. I know in my mind that God wants to heal me and bring me into fellowship with Him, but my self-induced emotional turmoil has so bound me that I cannot move. I want nothing more in this life than to be free to live a righteous, fruitful life and be a godly example to my son. Is it too late? O Lord, help me to deal with my horrific past sins and surrender to you, so I can be fully yours! Amen!
Wow, it looks like you and I are in a somewhat similar situation. I can fully empathize with you. I have also done things to myself and feel like I have made a mess of life. I feel like it is too late to bounce back and change, especially now that I am about to finish my course of study. My mistakes have stopped me from enjoying and making the most of my time in university (six long years!) and I am finding it almost impossible to forgive myself. As a result, I am finding it hard to trust God and surrender to Him.
Despite all this, I don’t think it is too late. You may have missed certain opportunities, but God will open nee doors for you if you let Him. Unfortunately, I cannot advise you on how to forgive yourself since I haven’t been able to do that myself, but I can say that it is possible with God being your Helper. Once you are a Child of God, you have the ability to overcome your past. All the best in your journey led by God on letting go and moving forward!
I am writing in response to David &Aljesus – you both
seem to have so much pain, I have been there before.
The scripture tells you once you ask for forgiveness you are forgiven.
No one is perfect, God knows this. He knows all your steps before you do
But he sent his son to take away our sins so that you and I can live and form
a close relationship with Him. It’s not about what you have done. It’s about today.
Don’t let the darkness of our past hold you back.
You are forgiven in God’s eyes, now forgive yourself
And move into the beautiful life God has in store for you.
Here is a prayer you can say that I got from my
Daily devotion-Father in heaven, I choose to bless You at all times. I choose to set the tone to receive Your favor, grace and mercy. Thank You for Your faithfulness at all times in Jesus’ name. Amen
Very good article. I’m in the process of being cleansed from my past and let go fully of all the weights and though it has not been easy, God has been there for me all through
I woke this morning and thought of exactly what this article is all about…how to trully let go of the past. So I googled and here I am. The few topic listed above, most have happened to me and continued for many years repeatedly. All these abuses happened in the environments where as a child is supposed to be the safest and loved, but it wasnt the case. In the school, church and the family environment. I had created a false image of myself just so I would fit in, yet hiding the real me (the shame and hurt) atleast what I thought I was. I feel I have forgiven all, and I used to pray…”God help them be better people”…to asking…”God help me to forgive them and to accept this and to become the instrument for you”. But was it hard?…yea it was, but it is possible and as tracye #5 said…”the tallest you will ever stand is on your knees”…thats where I found myself alot. But you know, we will have “thorny moments”, but remember the words of Jesus..”MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE THEREFORE MY STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESSES”..so we gladly boast in the strength of Jesus…and because of that, I can keep moving forward, sometimes its one step back and two forward…keep pressing forward saints, keep on keeping on…Thank you for this article and giving me the opportunity to share alittle with you all. Blessings 🙂
This is in response to the post made by Colleen on January 28, 2012. I have exactly the same problem you do — I have forgiven the wrongs that were done to me, but I am sometimes completely immobilized by thinking of the wrongs that I did to others, especially when I see how their lives are affected now because of what I did. I know that God has forgiven me and for that I am so grateful. I also know that each one of those people has complete access to God for healing and forgiveness just as I do. My prayer is that they will be able to turn to Him and receive it. I have often wondered if Paul felt regret and remorse for his pre-conversion treatment of Christians and if perhaps that was part of the past he chose not to dwell on. Had he allowed himself to focus on that part of his past, he could not have accomplished all that he did in serving God.
I believe God will handle this for us, Colleen. For the time being, I suppose we can live now as we wish we had in the past and be ready to make right the things of the past as God shows us how and when. God bless you.
Thank you for your generous spirit, Myra. Your blessing feels divinely inspired, containing much light in those three simple words. I will receive it, and try to return it tenfold. God bless you……too.
I just finally realized it was time for me to seek counseling to let go of my past hurts. I had my first session last night & it was awesome! I’m so glad I finally decided to go. Well today, I was really trying to google some scripture verses I could recite each day to help me even more let go of my past & when I googled “letting go of your past” this was the first article that came up & BOY AM I GLAD IT DID! This is awesome & so easy to read & follow. I got so much out of it & it has blessed me tremendously just reading it & reiterating some things I already knew. Thank you so much!
Probably one of the best articles I have read, I went for some healing last night at a housechurch I had never been to the minister saw straight into this and wife started to speak into this and heal…
i just been thinking of how to actually let go of the past because i get prayed over alot and the thing that always stick with me is God wants me to let go of the past…so i googled and yea helpful
Awesome article speaks the truth and the reality of how to deal with past hurt. So many people dont understand how to deal with it and this article says it all..You will never enjoy the fruits of the future unless you leave the past behind…This article has been a blessing…
This article help me to continue to believe God is walking with me about my past. I was thinking I was going to end up like my dad living with depression I pray god is with him and he can get over his past, although I was at that place were everything was confusing about what I was going through and I wondered how I was going to make it through this article helped me see that God wants me to make it and live and believe in his words I wasnt raised as a christian and this article help me see god plans more better.
Priscilla, the main thing that I have learned along life’s journey is that I had to forgive others so I can be forgiven. Depression is a very serious problem and if you don’t have the correct knowledge on how to deal with it when you see it in others or yourself you will not understand how to deal with it. We have to have faith and hope daily to drive us as God does want us to be happy…All the answers are in the bible…God Bless. Troy
My son has sent this to me to read and I found it very interesting , I will try very hard to let go of the awful life no child should have to live with and my teen years were no better. My brother Tom just got home from the service and had a wife and baby and moved in the neighborhood that all the relatives and families lived. But by that time all the damage was done and still going on, he came to the realization of what my life was like. He took me home to live with him and for once in my life I was happy and could sleep without thinking something was going to happen to me, or have water thrown in my face to wake up in the morning you were not allowed to sleep on your days off from work because you had to clean the house from top to bottom. I am going to try very very hard all these people that took my child hood away have passed away there is only one person left and I will forgive him if I can do this the way you said to do it. I do hope Gods plans are better for me if I can only let go of the past and hate built up inside me..
How happy I was to begin my new journey with the Lord in July-2013. All of a sudden a call came (Nov 30, 2013)and it was about the overdose death of my 22 yr old daughter Leane. My exes family blames me and told me it is my fault she was dead through Facebook. . I moved away and out of the country to start a new life so that I could start learning to let go of my past( so I thought)and here I opened the door to it again believing in lies that have nothing to do with me. Learning about my daughters death was painful enough and once again I found myself back in my past. All the hurtful memories came creeping back in cause I let them. I am ready to let go and take no part in what may happen from here on with people I have not seen in over 10 years. I have said my apologies and have asked for forgiveness from those I hurt and by most it was accepted and I knew I could move on. I truly believe I was being tested and after 3 months I am ready to move forward. Still feeling the loss of my beautiful daughter but maybe even stronger and closer to letting go. Lord guide me and give me the wisdom and strength to do your will, please help me to let go of the past forever, I surrender all. Reading this article has reached me at a perfect time in my life, I thank you. ~God Bless~
This all sounds wonderful, but easier said than done. How do you forget? How do you truly forgive, and know that you have? How do you forget being kicked out of the house at 16, into a life of horror, being kept away from your loving father, and being called when he had only had 12 hours to live, and the family sneaking the funeral, because your mother didn’t want to see you? And the reason I got kicked out , my brother had the same problem, and he know lives with her, and she supports him. I cant bring Dad back.
I am encouraged to know that others have the same testimonies as I do. I am trying to make Jesus Lord of my life, but it is hard to trust. Please know that each comment is an encouragement to me, and please please, pray for my dear dad who seems to have an incurable disease. Please pray for his healing, and that he lets go of unforgiveness with bitterness. And please pray, too, that he gets truly saved if he isn’t already. Thank you to all of you. Jesus, thank You that You will heal all of these dear saints from the inside out…Just thank You, Lord!!
Hi I’m 17 years old and i am having doubts about if i really let go of my past this article really touched me and it showed me where i needed to go because i just feel stuck and that scares me so much. I used to struggle with sleeping in different places and it really affected who I was. The lies kept me captive for 6 years and i felt like nothing was working. Until this past summer when I moved for the first time and went on a mission trip and had the fear uprooted and prayed for. It was the best time of my life but now Satan is bringing up my past experiences and i have had trouble sleeping in different places and im beginning to feel like I’m falling back into that old little scared girl and I’m so afraid of her because she kept me in a cage for so long and i never want her to come back. My parents told me God is trying to teach me to let go and to tell Satan no those are not my thoughts anymore. Will you please help me with this or give me some advice?
I have always been willing to let it go. I have always prayed to God that he would take it off of me. I have always tried my very hardest to remove it myself. How exactly do I go about doing this? I’m obviously going about it the wrong way. This article was barely helpful in this part of my life. “How To Let Go of Your Past”: just let go of it and give your life to God? Boy, that’s real helpful. I already know I need to do it, I just need to know how. And I’ve asked God to help me through it, but He is silent on the matter.
Hello Rebecca Jeane. I was where you are now just a few months ago. I thought I never could move beyond, but God can do anything. He is the God who brings the dead to life. He is the God who saves and has mercy on us and always always loves–and he can do anything! He can even help you let go of your remorse and of your past. You need to view yourself how God views you–not as the same person that you were. Not as the same person that hurt so badly–but as a person who loves him and is new and separated from her sins. Think of King David. Think of his sins. Think of his guilt he described in Psalms. Think of how it hurt him. And think of the person we remember him as. Great. Wise. Kind. And, finally, think of how God called him “beloved.” He loved David perfectly even after his sin. We have all sinned and we all fall short of the glory of God (See Romans 3:23) at the cross we are all even. No one person’s sin is greater than another’s because we have all fallen short of the standard. None of us can ever reach that standard and so we have Christ. Christ to strengthen us, Christ to forgive us, Christ to help us, Christ to heal us. To pick us up when we fall and to hold our hand as if we were a toddler beginning to walk. For that is what we are. Children just learning how to walk with God. and so he protects us from falling and when we do picks us back up, sets us on our feet and dusts us off. You are not the same person who sinned. You are new and your sins have been cast into the sea and will never be retrieved. The day you repented you left your old self behind on the floor, an empty, shivering shell. Don’t pick up that shell and try to put it on again–pray instead. pray and meditate on his word.You may not have felt it then and you may not feel it now but God has forgiven you and you are new. You do not have to wallow in your past until you drown. God will throw you a rope. His timing is perfect and he is perfect and you need to trust him to help you. You are new. Since I will never do as well as God’s word in showing you this, here are a few verses that have helped me.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
-2 Corinthians 5:17
Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
-Micah 7:19
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
-Romans 3:23
When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.
-Psalm 32:3
Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
-1 John 3:2
And, Finally, one of my favorite verses, Revelation 21:4:
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Did you read that? THE OLD ORDER OF THINGS HAS PASSED AWAY. Just like your past self and your sin. Also, Maybe one reason why God seems to keep silent, is because you might not have listened. After all, for a conversation to be full, it has to be both ways. It has to be more than a monologue. Now for one more piece of Scripture.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
-Matthew 7:7
God bless, Rebecca Jeane. May your journey with him be full.
Hello Rebecca our God is almighty God of impossibles when we say or told to let go and let God we see like its easy said than done but in pure honesty we can only manage to do that if we pray non – stop and keep trusting, pray exactly how you feel and how you want so when your praying pour your heart out to him ask him to help you to let Go its hard at the beginning but keep listening to sermons, praise and worship read the articles about his word. Ask him to help you trust in him it takes time but its all worthy. His Grace goes abundantly and exceedingly, read through the scriptures from time to time find a good based bible church and keep God first and the center of your life and everything will be fine before you know it. Sometimes we mighty think he is not listening he is not responding but he does all that behind our closed doors and he deliver us just right in time. Stay blessed and remember God loves you.
I get it, I do. I do not have the power to forgive, but what I can do is change the way I think about things.. When the thoughts enter I can say “No” I can say “Lord help me to see this differently” I can say “Lord, I forgive….and say their names. I can say “Be with them Lord”. I can say “Please Lord, change my thoughts, and heal the pain.” I also can open my Bible and read the word. These are things I can do. My Jesus will have to do the rest because in my own power I cannot just “Let It Go” …..I do believe that if I am faithful, my Jesus will give me the grace to forgive.
God told people He healed in the bible to go and tell of the great things that God had done . My past is my testimony, where God has brought me from. I don’t dwell on the past, but my testimony depends on my past.
Folks,
I have found that sometimes God puts us through endurance trials. It’s like an annealing process. He refines us in the fire. It’s not about becoming unchained, it’s about learning to fight and overcome evil. Constantly. God never tries us beyond what we can endure but I find He definately pushes us to our limits. As long as we are in this world we are in a battlefield. It’s to teach us that his strength is made perfect in our weakness. So keep up the good fight and don’t expect some kind of rose garden or magical day of release until the rapture. Every day you endure and overcome adds more strength to your souls. Read revelations… to he who overcomes I will give the crown of life. There are many crowns for different trials.
I needed to read that. I messaged someone who I thought was a friend. It was his girlfriend and I had no knowledge of that. He and I had not been together for months but I was trying to protect him and her so I lied of our relationship and now it is biting me in the butt. The weird thing is that I saw this in a dream. I felt it was better to block the parties involved then to cause anymore trouble and now I am dealing with the aftermath of everything.
I have the most difficult time forgiving myself of my past. I have done some really bad things. I have been unfaithful to my vows and have hurt deeply the person I was with as well. I don’t really know how to rebound from that. I know God is able but I know I am not worthy. This article helps but my whole thought process is messed up
I understand when you say, “My thought process is messed up” I get it. Mine is also. I allowed my ex-husband to take my daughter away from me, and I just let it happen. I believed I was a terrible mother, and that was the biggest lie. I allowed men to take advantage of me without saying a word. I would allow my family to say horrible things to me and I would just stand there quietly. I did not know how to stick up for myself and fight. I struggle with this even today. I replay the events in my head over and over again with me doing or saying something in trying to change the outcome. In having me be victorious. This is an every day battle ever since I can remember and I am fifty years old. Today is the day I am saying enough is enough. I have had enough of this. Jesus help me and this man named “Rod” Helps us to forgive ourselves and to begin living our lives free from condemnation. Lord, help us to trust you with all of hearts, and with all of our minds. Jesus thank you for what you are going to do. I wait with great expectations.
My past has been a struggle. I believe my past is preventing me from becoming a Special Education Teacher. I am believing the lies of the enemy that I am not capable to handle this calling due to being verbally abused growing up by my mother and sisters. The voices in my head trap me from moving forward. I know this, I rebuke it, I come up against it, and it is a daily battle, one that I want to end. I want my JESUS, and I know my relationship with him is hindered. I can feel it. However, I find my self praising God that he is allowing this to happen in regards of me not passing my exams. If he handed me the prize, I would not be seeking healing. I would just continue living the way that I have been living with resentment and anger. Past memories that haunt me daily and trying to change the outcome inside my mind with me saying horrible things to these people. Lord, enough is enough, please help me to forgive, and put a love inside my heart for these people but also to forgive myself for not standing up to the bullies. Lord, I think that this is the real problem, I cannot forgive myself…I feel I allowed these terrible things to happen. Help me to forgive me….and to know that you have forgiven me. I am sorry for who I was, I am sorry that I did not stand up for myself, or my child. I am sorry Lord for the thing I made it. Lord, please forgive me, and help me to forgive myself. I love you but my mind has not loved you the way it should. Forgive and heal my mind. I pray a mind of Christ over me. Oh Lord, heal me, so I can move forward and become the person you want me to be, who ever that maybe. Lord, if being a teacher is not your will, I except it, just please take the desire away and give me another vision. If teaching is what you want, then please help me to believe that I can pass the exams to become the teacher you want me to be. Lord I love you soooo much, and again forgive me. I want to love those who caused me harm more then my own life. In Jesus precious name, AMEN………….
Amazing word from God, at just the right time. What fantastic advice. It’s like the light went on in this neverending darkness that i have been stuck in for years and years. Thank you!
hi just reading some of your deliverance stuff and innerheaing stuff I just wanted to say you sertanly have a great web sight .. one of the best Iv ever read .. lots of info and very detailed.. just a great sight to read up on issues .. and problem
solving .. thanks ..’
Thank you.. This is so very helpful.. In the midst of a world full of people saying what they think, this article comes across clearly that it’s the Son who set us free.. Lately I have came across people with a deluded attitude towards facing the past.. A manner of condemnation which didn’t sit right with my spirit.. Hence me being prompted to do bible reference.. This article explains the process correctly with out a dreaded fear of anything, it can be so easy to be challenged especially if it’s by someone we know a long time… Now this article has taught me how to handle that conversation should it arise again. Love it when the Holy spirit guides us to clarity.. Feeling blessed. Thank you so much. Keep up the great work. ❤️
Hey. Glory to God. This article spoke to me and about me. For the last two to three weeks have been dreaming about my past. Events that happened to me and I knew that God was speaking to me. Some of them left me hurt, bitter and feeling like a failure. Some I am learning how to do things right.
I am blessed by reading this and I now know what to do that the Holy Spirit is guiding me through it. Be blessed.
Learning how to truly let go and let GOD requires healing LORD I trust the process your taking me through and I am healed whole and complete in CHRIST JESUS and i shall soar into heavenly places possessing all that THE LORD MY GOD has predestined for MY LIFE . Thank you for the reminder this word has awakened me in THE SPIRIT
And my past is no longer a hindrance to accessing my TRUE IDENTITY IN CHRIST because I AM FREE..
I am treasuring this find as I have had a world class tendency to allow my past to beat me up. I was feeling this today as a matter of fact so this is a divine appointment. By God’s grace I am healing but need more work and prayer in this area. I felt convicted by the Lord’s comments about having one hand on the plow and looking back. I also treasure 1 John 4:19 – (loosely translated) we set our hearts at rest when we condemn ourselves because God is bigger than our hearts and He knows everything. No more! I want to be an eagle for Him and soar! Thank you for this blog!
I’m struggling on letting people go that don’t have a place in this season in my life.. They have served their purpose. But I find myself reaching out to them. Even sometimes asking why.. But to hate, or to have bitterness or to hold any type of grudges towards anyone. As in my thoughts.. I mean there times I half to refocus my thoughts. Which im hurt about a lot of different things that has happen in my life. I am healing slowly.
One important thing I will add here is that God said in the well know verse Romans 8:28 that ALL things work together for good, not just ‘some’ bad things.
I will also say from my own experience that even when you don’t know HOW to let go, tell God you want to. Ask Him to show you how, and He WILL show you, gently and slowly.
I find that the night time when drifting off to sleep, or waking in the night and mornings are often times when I hear Him most clearly.
Nothing is off limits with God. Keep an open heart, and talk to Him about every small thing that concerns you. He will most definitely lead you as He promised, for His own names sake (ie as He promised, so will He do).
No one ever has to do this alone.
This has been a struggle for me. I’ve really struggled to let my past go. Most of my problem isn’t with what others have done to me, but the bad things that I’ve done in my lifetime. Do you have any articles on letting go of the bad stuff we’ve done?
Yesterday I preyed asking God “How do I move on to rebuild after mourning sin?”
This morning God asked me “What is it that I want?” My answer to Him was to never have to go back to how I had lived in the past which is a constant fear of mine.
Your article was the first to be opened after he gave me the message to “Let go” which I googled searched as we do.
This has helped me so much!
God has without realizing taken me through bad past time memories, and I am ready to move forward for Him.
The realization though came through you.
God Bless you!