Wednesday, December 28, 2016

December 29, 2016

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am going a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:18-19

With the rapidly approaching New Year's Day it is important to be sure you are able to make the New Year new. You cannot move into the future while you are stuck in the pass.

Your past is not past until you leave it behind.

So, how does that happen?

How do I get past my past and leave it in the past?

This week I am sharing five steps for leaving the past in the past and moving into a preferable future! Today I will share the third of those five steps:

1. Make the decision to let it go.

2. Express your pain - and your responsibility

3. Stop being the victim and blaming others.

The easiest thing in the world to do is blame others. That's how people who see themselves as victims respond to life.
To be perfectly honest, being the victim feels good — it’s like being on the winning team of you against the world. But guess what? The world largely doesn’t care, so you need to get over yourself. Yes, you’re special. Yes, your feelings matter. But don’t confuse with “your feelings matter” to “your feelings should override all else, and nothing else matters.” Your feelings are just one part of this large thing we call life, which is all interwoven and complex. And messy.
At any given moment in your life, you have that choice — to continue to feel bad about another person’s actions, or to start feeling good. You alone are responsible for your own happiness and when you choose to take that responsibility you begin feeling empowered.

When you are content to play the victim card that you believe life dealt you then you are choosing to play a losing hand. You are also giving power to those who you think dealt you the card and in so doing giving them control over your life. Why put that sort of power in the hands of someone else? Why would you let the person who hurt you in the past have such power, right here, right now? It the feeling of power you get from playing the victim worth the sense of powerlessness that comes with it?

Isaiah's counsel is solid, "Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past." More than likely the person or persons who caused you this pain have moved on with their lives, why should you remain mired in the past?

New Year's Day is a great time to try something new! Why not move out of the past and into the present so God can provide you a better future?