Yesterday Is Gone: Let Old Mistakes Rest In Peace

Dear God, I'm so sorry for what I've done. Please forgive me for messing up and help me become a better person. Amen.

Have you ever said a prayer like that? If so, how many times do you feel you need to repeat it before God accepts it? Years ago, I would pray about the same mistakes repeatedly and I'm not sure why I did that. Perhaps it was due to a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of Paul's instructions in I Thessalonians 5:17 to "pray continually." Or, maybe I just had so much guilt that I felt I should keep praying about the various ways I felt I'd messed up.

When I was a child, I went to church every Sunday. But, I rarely read the little white, gold-rimmed King James Bible that I'd once received as a gift. It wasn't until after asking Jesus Christ into my heart years later--and receiving a large, hardcover, navy blue New International Version study Bible--that I began to learn for myself what it meant to be a Christian. And, one thing I learned while engaging in hours of personal bible study was that everyone sins.

Simply put, sins are willful violations of God's commands. They damage our relationship with God, our image of ourselves, as well as our ability to relate to others. So, maybe I'd repeatedly pray about my mistakes because I realized they had far-reaching consequences.

Fortunately, one day I also came to the realization that I don't need to pray about the same old mistakes like I'm a CD player stuck in "repeat mode." If I'm sincere the first time I lift up a prayer, God hears it. In other words, it occurred to me that I must leave past mistakes where they belong--behind me. Yes, God wants us to turn from our sins and regret that we made them, but I don't believe He wants us to live a life that is soiled with--or weighed down by--guilt over things we did long ago. Living like this would be as profitable to us as lugging around an overstuffed, rancid garbage bag from place to place every day.

Closing Thoughts:

Have you been doing that? If so, please take note of this next statement: you don't have to live that way. You don't have to keep reliving past mistakes and conjuring up more and more guilt with each passing day. While it may be impossible to forget some previous mistakes, a life in Christ doesn't have to revolve around them. If you're ready to lay your old mistakes to rest, come back tomorrow and I'll share a few tips with you on how to begin to do that.

Verse of Encouragement:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! II Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)