31 days, 31 questions, 31 answers - Day 11

I read an article by author, professor and theologian Don Whitney that listed 31 questions to consider for a new year. I decided that I will answer one question each day in January. Here is the eleventh question, and my answer.

  

   What's the most important decision you need to make this year? The most important decision I need to make is to get over past hurts and move on with my life. I can be trapped in the past. I can allow the past to affect my present and my future. I can allow the past to dictate how I react to people and circumstances in the present. This sounds simple to overcome, but in reality, it is difficult. The key is to trust in Jesus. I do not mean a superficial trust. And I do not mean that I have not commited my life to Jesus. What I mean is that while I pay lip service to placing trust in Jesus, I do not trust Him to deal with all the aspects of my life. I must make the decision to let Jesus deal with those past issues and choose to live in the present. I must let Jesus heal past hurts and trust Him to guide me in the present. I need to stop taking bask things that I have given to Him and let Him deal with it. Did my son tell me last night that he doesn’t love me? This morning, is a new day, so I cannot harbor that thought. Am I still reacting based on something that happened to me while I was a teenager? It’s time to move past it and react appropriately based on the present circumstance. I do not mean to bury issues. I am saying that I need to deal with those issues and the feelings they bring up in my life, offer forgiveness or seek forgiveness, and then move on. “One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, let those who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.” (Philippians 3:13-16).