Close the Door on Your Past
Before us is a new year coming soon, and while many of us look forward to 2010, passionate about advancing even further in the plan of God, expecting new revelations, and pursuing a deeper relationship with Him, others are skeptical. Maybe they started last year excited about the things of God, but, as time progressed, they found themselves walking in circles, coming against the same old things, and living the same old way. What’s holding them back? They may not have closed the door on their past. Some are consumed with their past mistakes, hurts, and disappointments, while others have found comfort in what’s familiar and are reluctant to let go and trust God. If that’s you, I want you to know that your past is just that - your past. A new room in the realm of God awaits you, and if you will be willing to step over the threshold and close the door on your past, you’ll taste and see the power and anointing of God manifest in your life in ways you’ve never experienced before.
What’s the first step? In order for any of us to go to another level in God, we have to come to a place in our lives where we decide, “I will never be the same again!” To do that, we can’t dwell on our mistakes, we can’t live in sin, and we can’t cling to our own plans and agendas. Those things are like weights around our ankles that hold our feet to the floor and prevent us from moving forward. That is why the Apostle Paul wrote “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1, KJV).
Once we’ve let go of those things, we have to purpose not to look back. Have you ever tried to walk forward while looking behind you? Initially, you might make some progress, but it will be short lived. Eventually, you’re going to veer off course. Consider the account of Lot’s wife found in Genesis 19. The Lord told Lot to leave Sodom and Gomorrah and not look back, but his wife didn’t heed the Lord’s instruction. She gazed back at the city and turned to a pillar of salt (vs. 26); she couldn’t let go of her past, and it destroyed her life.
The devil would like nothing better than for us to be like Lot’s wife and not move forward. He doesn’t want us stepping through another door into another level in God, and he will do all that he can to try and get us to believe that things are good right where we’re at. He knows that if we taste of the things of God that await us on the other side of the door, the things of our past will be detestable to us. Even the devil’s most cunning attempts to entice us with something we used to do will be laughable. Instead of considering his invitations to delve into our past, we’ll respond with the attitude of “Are you kidding me? You want me to sacrifice what I’m experiencing in the Kingdom of God for that? No way!”
After we’ve purposed in our hearts to never be the same again, and have set our gaze on the things of God, we will find ourselves at the threshold of the door. Behind us is our past; before us is a new place in God, and we now have a choice to make. We can simply stand in the doorway as spectators, merely observing others living in the promises of God, or we can walk right on through and partake of those things too.
How do we take those steps forward? Like anything else in our walk with God, we have to step through the door by faith. We have to put one foot in front of the other while saying and believing, “Father, I trust that if I give my whole life to You: spirit, soul, and body, your blessings, peace, joy, and anointing will be upon my life. I trust that my children will be taken care of, and you will bless me, prosper me, and meet all of my needs. I’m letting go of control of my life. I’m going out on a boat where storms may be shaking it, and it looks like it might sink. But, Jesus is with me. I’m going to the other side, and I refuse to look back. I’m slamming shut behind me the door to my past, and I’m going forward in You. Hallelujah!”
God wants us to come to a place where we trust Him and Him alone. Proverbs 3:5-6 encourages us to do so with these words, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Think about that. Who would you rather have directing your future - you or the Creator of the Universe? Too often, we try to figure things out on our own. We put our trust in what we know and what our abilities are, when, the truth of the matter is that, God has greater resources than our limited thinking could ever fathom. A great example of this is when God brought money through the mouth of a fish (Matthew 17:24-27)! Do you think that Jesus didn’t know people who could have knocked on His door and given Him the money? Of course He did, but that just shows us that God can meet our needs in ways we could never even imagine. And, what about the miracle of turning water into wine (John 2:1-11)? Telling the servants to fill the wine pots with water didn’t make sense in the natural, but look what happened – a miracle! Had the servants ran through the city going from door to door trying to obtain more wine, they may have been somewhat successful, but by obeying the direction of the Lord, a miracle happened that was far greater than what they could have done in their own abilities.
If you’ve been living day to day in your own strength and trusting in your own abilities, if you’re hungry for a deeper relationship with your Heavenly Father, and if you never want to be the same again, today you have the opportunity to enter into a new room in God where greater miracles, greater provision, and a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him awaits you! The door is open, and God is beckoning you to come inside. Step over the threshold, close the door on your past, and partake of all the wonderful things God has prepared just for you.