Isaiah 43:18-19

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

One of my grandsons played football for his middle school football team. One evening he and his father came to the house after a game. I noticed that my grandson didn’t look too happy. Instead of heading to the refrigerator to get something to eat, he went to one of the back bedrooms and closed the door behind him. When he bypassed the refrigerator, I knew something was seriously wrong. I asked his dad, “How did the game go?” My son replied, “Well, they ended up losing the game.” Then I asked, “Sorry to hear that. How did Jason do? Did he play well?”

My son shook his head and said, “He played well until the third quarter. Then he had two bad plays in a row and played poorly the rest of the game. The other team scored the winning touchdown by running a play on his side of the field. He could have easily made the tackle and kept them from scoring, but it was almost like he had given up. He couldn’t get the mistakes of the third quarter out of his mind. For him, the game was lost in that third quarter.”

The following week they came over again after a game. I noticed that my grandson had an entirely different attitude. He was cheerful. Before going to the back room to watch television, he stopped by the refrigerator and the pantry. Whatever food he took back with him, he needed two hands to carry it. I asked my son, “Hey, did you trade in the old Jason and get a clone? He looks like the same kid you brought over here last week, but he’s an entirely different person. His team must have won the game today.”

My son replied, “No, they actually lost the game. But Jason played like a he was trying out for the NFL. He made five solo tackles, sacked the quarterback twice, and on offense scored two touchdowns.”

Surprised, I asked, “Wow! What happened? What made the difference?” My son replied, “Well, after we left here last week Jason and I had a long talk. Last week, he couldn’t get those two bad plays out of his mind. He internalized them and basically turned them into discouragement. That’s why he played so poorly and missed the tackle that could have won the game.

All this week I reminded him, ‘The past is the past. You’re moving forward. Don’t let it affect how you play in next week’s game. Learn from the past, but remember, it’s a new game.’ “

We all have things in our past that we wish didn’t happen. Some caused by others; some caused by your own actions. When we dwell on the past too long, we begin to experience the emotions associated with those thoughts. Pretty soon the past’s pain and disappointments become today’s reality, displacing the good of today. You can miss the hand of God moving in your life today because you’re focused on the past. (“…Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?…”)

The sovereign God sees your past, present and future. His plan for your life encompasses all of your past, all of your present and all of your future. And if He becomes your primary focus each day, He will guide you through the wilderness of life, and bring to life to that which was once barren.

Put the past in its proper place; it is a reference point in life, not a destination.