Gen. 19:17 - 'And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth
abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee,
neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou
be consumed.'
*
You know, we have all done things that we are ashamed of. Many of us*did things that were uncalled for and really horrible. But thank God*for grace! Thank God that he wipes our past away, gives us a new*start, and puts us where we belong. But you must decide in your heart*and mind that you are delivered from your past mistakes. You must*forgive others for hurting you, and you must get forgiveness for hurt*you caused in your past. Once you clear that up, you gotta let your*past be your PAST! If not, it will consume you. You can always tell a*person that has not forgiven others or themselves for past failures*because they will always bring them up! When they get hurt, they will*talk about all they have been through. When they hurt others, they*will blame it on their past or past failures. When they get down or*depressed, they will make reference to situations in their past. When*you do these things, you only hurt yourself. Sure, people will*distance themselves from you because no one likes to hear about your*past all the time, but the real damage is done internally. When you*don't let go of what you did or what people did to you, then you will*not go forward. But let's look at this scripture in Genesis. The*angel of the Lord commanded Lot and his family to leave the city of*Sodom. But look at the instructions deeply, because God was saying*something here that will help you get over the past you are battling.*
*
First, he said "Escape for you life!" In other words, get out at all*costs. Don't linger in your past, but get out because if you stay in*your past, it will consume you and destroy your hope of getting better.*The next thing he said was, "Don't look back!" How can you drive*forward if you are looking in the "rear view?" You will crash. Stop*talking about your past and allowing yourself to cry, hurt, and feel*bad because of it. GET OVER IT!!!! When you give your "past" power over*your emotions, you make terrible decisions and create more negative*memories. Then he said, "Don't stay where you are!" In other words,*there is something better. Don't let your present state control your*decisions. If you make decisions based on how you feel, then you may*mess things up! You see, where you are is not who you are. So, don't*base your decisions on how you feel right now. God may have you in a*test or in the valley working on you. You can't react to that because*it's not designed to always be that way. So, let God be God and endure*it so you can move on. If you keep failing the test, you won't go*forward. The last command he gave was to, "Escape to the mountains!"*WOW! In other words, don't stay low, but aim high! Our past can*shrink the way we think. If you focus on your past, and your past*consists of bad decisions, then you will begin to low ball God. You*will think small and aim for small goals. You will feel like you have*to settle for less because of your mess! You will begin to ask God for*quick fixes and bandages instead of true healing and deliverance.*Forget what's behind you and elevate your thinking! Ask God for big*things and believe him for it. Ask God to do miraculous things instead*of settling for what you can achieve on your own power! The last thing*mentioned was "lest thou be consumed!" Your past can consume you. If*you give it power to affect your present and future, then you will miss*much of what God has for you. I know people that tell me "God spoke*it, so no matter what I do, it's got to happen!" But beware! Try the*spirit that told you it would definitely happen to see if it was of*God. And if you have that attitude, i'm sure you have heard many*things that you "thought" God said, but later found out it was not God*at all. Let God erase your past, guide your present, and lead your*future. If you do that, then you will reach the goal set before you.*But looking back will only cause you to trip and fall again!
Suggested Reading: 1John 2:1, Luke 6:37, 1John 1:9
abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee,
neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou
be consumed.'
*
You know, we have all done things that we are ashamed of. Many of us*did things that were uncalled for and really horrible. But thank God*for grace! Thank God that he wipes our past away, gives us a new*start, and puts us where we belong. But you must decide in your heart*and mind that you are delivered from your past mistakes. You must*forgive others for hurting you, and you must get forgiveness for hurt*you caused in your past. Once you clear that up, you gotta let your*past be your PAST! If not, it will consume you. You can always tell a*person that has not forgiven others or themselves for past failures*because they will always bring them up! When they get hurt, they will*talk about all they have been through. When they hurt others, they*will blame it on their past or past failures. When they get down or*depressed, they will make reference to situations in their past. When*you do these things, you only hurt yourself. Sure, people will*distance themselves from you because no one likes to hear about your*past all the time, but the real damage is done internally. When you*don't let go of what you did or what people did to you, then you will*not go forward. But let's look at this scripture in Genesis. The*angel of the Lord commanded Lot and his family to leave the city of*Sodom. But look at the instructions deeply, because God was saying*something here that will help you get over the past you are battling.*
*
First, he said "Escape for you life!" In other words, get out at all*costs. Don't linger in your past, but get out because if you stay in*your past, it will consume you and destroy your hope of getting better.*The next thing he said was, "Don't look back!" How can you drive*forward if you are looking in the "rear view?" You will crash. Stop*talking about your past and allowing yourself to cry, hurt, and feel*bad because of it. GET OVER IT!!!! When you give your "past" power over*your emotions, you make terrible decisions and create more negative*memories. Then he said, "Don't stay where you are!" In other words,*there is something better. Don't let your present state control your*decisions. If you make decisions based on how you feel, then you may*mess things up! You see, where you are is not who you are. So, don't*base your decisions on how you feel right now. God may have you in a*test or in the valley working on you. You can't react to that because*it's not designed to always be that way. So, let God be God and endure*it so you can move on. If you keep failing the test, you won't go*forward. The last command he gave was to, "Escape to the mountains!"*WOW! In other words, don't stay low, but aim high! Our past can*shrink the way we think. If you focus on your past, and your past*consists of bad decisions, then you will begin to low ball God. You*will think small and aim for small goals. You will feel like you have*to settle for less because of your mess! You will begin to ask God for*quick fixes and bandages instead of true healing and deliverance.*Forget what's behind you and elevate your thinking! Ask God for big*things and believe him for it. Ask God to do miraculous things instead*of settling for what you can achieve on your own power! The last thing*mentioned was "lest thou be consumed!" Your past can consume you. If*you give it power to affect your present and future, then you will miss*much of what God has for you. I know people that tell me "God spoke*it, so no matter what I do, it's got to happen!" But beware! Try the*spirit that told you it would definitely happen to see if it was of*God. And if you have that attitude, i'm sure you have heard many*things that you "thought" God said, but later found out it was not God*at all. Let God erase your past, guide your present, and lead your*future. If you do that, then you will reach the goal set before you.*But looking back will only cause you to trip and fall again!
Suggested Reading: 1John 2:1, Luke 6:37, 1John 1:9
