When we’re stuck in the past, we tend to be governed by tradition. We adhere to what have been called the famous last seven words of the church, — “but we’ve always done it this way”. Past hurts or mistakes can also keep us stuck. Maybe we had a bad church experience and don’t want to get hurt again. Perhaps we made mistakes and feel disqualified to go on.
The Problem with Being Stuck in the Past
Tradition isn’t wrong in and of itself. Throughout Scripture we read of God establishing various offerings and festivities for His people as a reminder of His work in their lives. The problem comes when we can’t see past our traditions and they become an end in themselves. Too often we then simply go through the motions rather than experiencing the reality and abundance of life Jesus came to give us. What worked in the past may not be God’s direction for the present. Stuck in the way we’ve always done it, we may find it hard to see how something else could work better. We’ll be quick to throw up the red flags — “but we’ve never done it that way” — and halt progress.
Mistakes, even obvious sin, don’t have to define us for “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn. 1:9) Think of the people in Scripture with tainted past whom God used nonetheless. When we let our past keep us from pressing on, it’s like saying the work of Christ on the cross wasn’t enough.
What It Takes to Get Unstuck
Before becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Saul at the time, was steeped in Jewish traditions, so much so that he actively persecuted Jesus’ disciples. As a follower of Jesus, however, he said, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on …” (Phil. 3:13-14). He wasn’t about to let the past hold him back … neither the habitual comfort of tradition or the guilt of how he treated Christians. We can learn from his example.
We must first ask this question: Is our desire to “press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold” of us (Phil. 3:12) stronger than our need to hold on to the past? If so, then we must be willing to do two things so we’re not stuck in the past.
1) We must forget what is behind, both the good and the bad. That doesn’t necessarily mean we obliterate it from our memory. Rather, we don’t hold onto it, nurturing our hurts or accomplishments to the extent that they keep us from pressing on.
2) We strain toward what is ahead. Just as physically stretching may be a bit uncomfortable but in the end develops stronger muscles, so when we “press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold” of us (Phil. 3:12), God develops within us the strength we need to go the next mile, and then the next.