Which are you more invested in, your future or your past? Those vested in the past are more apt to neglect their future and tend to be less clear about the road ahead. For those of you who may fit in this category, what holds your attention the most? Is it some failure, or perhaps a wound you suffered years ago? Do you cling to the pain and resentment attached to either of these? Some love to sing an old sad song in hope others will join in with them. Whatever it may be, these sorts of things can hold you back from a bright future.
One aspect of your mind that you may not have considered is part of its design is self-defense. It seeks to protect you from further pain. Its playing defense can be good, but it can also be a detriment. It’s wonderful when your mind helps you not make the same mistake more than once. On the other hand, it can take you down the road of fear and anxiety if you let it. Yes, it’s permissive. You have more control over your thoughts than you might believe. Sometimes it’s not a traumatic event in itself that causes the most pain; it’s the interpretation of it that becomes the real problem. That’s not to diminish the event; however, seeing it improperly could make it worse.
When raw emotions are at play, things involved such as motives could be easily misunderstood. For instance, if you see yourself as a victim, you would be more apt to view something done unintentionally as being very intentional. One might develop an inner narrative that says, “Trust no one!” Ironically, some develop such a victim mentality they become over dependent on others. So much so, they cannot even make their own decisions. Communities require interdependence to survive. By and large, interdependency requires people to be independent to work properly. Each of us have strengths and weaknesses, which means we should be able to bear one another’s burdens. Life is much easier when we can rely on each other. Becoming an isolationist due to lack of trust can impede you from becoming your best version.
Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Countless individuals miss opportunities that could propel them forward in life. They simply will not take the risk, no matter how well it’s planned out. Others fail to develop relationships that would be mutually beneficial. For some it’s fear, for others it’s old fashioned self-sabotage. They refuse to change their thinking because they feel they deserve to suffer. They continue to believe a lie from their past, which they allow to shape who they are. They become comfortable with failure.
God never intended anyone to be stuck in their past, even if it was grand. No none is supposed to live in fear. Why did Jesus come? Here’s what He said:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:14-18).
Contrary to what many believe, emotional healing is not meant to be long and drawn out. Of course, a number of people have made a lot money on the premise of long and drawn out. In relation to the manifestation of the Spirit found in 1 Corinthians 12, it makes a very interesting phrase: “to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit” (verse 9). Gifts is plural which indicates healing for the whole person, including the mind and emotions. The word, saved, in the Greek (SOZO) is also rendered healed (as in “By Whose stripes ye were healed” [1 Peter 2:24]), and it does indeed mean healing for the entire person. You do not have to hang onto the junk. By His grace you can let it go. Instead of focusing on a past that doesn’t even belong you, perhaps focus on being who God says you are. Learn from the past, put on the new man indeed (see Ephesians 4:24), and move onto the abundant life He intended for you. Change your thoughts, change your life. It’s called repentance.
