While our children gathered in California for Thanksgiving, we were in Idaho. We took care of our daughter’s and her husband’s pooch, Bennie Boo. He’s a good dog, one trained in the cooperative program between the Humane Society and the State Prison.
We took care of Bennie because he doesn’t do well in Doggie Daycare. His early life, prior to coming to live with Michele and Mike, was difficult, being returned to the Humane Society a few times before being put through the Prison Program. So, when it seems as though he’s been left again, he gets nervous and that leads to some bossy behavior that’s not welcomed in Daycare. But when he’s with Grandpa and Grandma, he relaxes, gets all the attention, and of course, gets a bit spoiled.
Bennie reminded me that it is often difficult to let go of our past. Even though he’s now with wonderful owners who treat him well and care for him greatly, when put in a position that reminds him of how difficult his early life was, he reverts to old ways of coping.
We often do the same thing. We forget the new life we have in Christ Jesus and we revert to old habits we thought we conquered, addictions we thought we’d overcome, old ways of thinking and acting. We need to understand that the goal of the enemy of our soul is always to try to put us in positions that remind us of difficulties and trials, of old life, rather than the new life we have in Christ. The enemy wants us looking back rather than looking ahead.
Paul wrote in Philippians “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” [3:13-14]
While we need to remember what we were before coming to Christ (so we can appreciate all Christ Jesus has done for us and in us), we are not to return to those things. We are to keep our focus ahead … toward that goal, that prize, that we will have when we enter the presence of Christ Jesus. Let’s let go of our past and embrace our present redemption and future glory in Him.
