September 8, 2006

 

Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on….

 

--Philippians 3:13-14

 

One of Satan’s strongest weapons against Christians is to bring up our past failures and embarrassments to discourage us and tell us that we can’t go on for Christ. The devil wants to pile up the rubbish and ruins from our past to block our progress.

 

Nehemiah and his fellow Jews who went back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city’s walls encountered mounds of rubble and other debris from the city’s destruction. The fourth chapter of Nehemiah describes the physical rubbish the workers faced, but the principle remains the same in the spiritual world.

 

The debris they were working around was a reminder of past failures and defeats for Jerusalem. But Nehemiah was there to claim victory, not moan over the past. Many times we must do as Nehemiah didstand in the area of previous defeat and claim victory for Christ!

 

If you get caught up in all of the junk of the past, you’ll get weighed down and not move forward. Many times we let the evil one remind us of our failures…instead of focusing on the blessings of God in our life.

 

Have you lost confidence today because of failures that still haunt you? If so, I encourage you to follow Peter’s advice and cast your anxieties on God. Because He cares for you!

 

don’t let the piles of rubble from your past keep you from pressing on for christ.