For many people, the past is a painful period of life that may hold bad memories, harsh relationships, and painful events that people carry with them throughout life. If not dealt with properly, the events of the past can have adverse effects on people’s personal well-being and success in the present, because people can bring their painful past into their current existence. The past can seem like a “ball and chain” dragging them down and keeping them from experiencing the joy and contentment life has to offer.
Many psychological therapies are available today that help reach into the past lives of people in an attempt to “uncover” the root cause of their current problems. It’s true that examining and understanding the past can serve as a window into the tfuture, but digging into one’s past on a regular basis also can be an irritant that keeps the pain of the past a current memory and may actually prevent real healing from taking place. Continually discussing the painful past can be like reopening an old wound, serving as a constant reminder of those past hurts.
Another approach to dealing with our past resides in the pages of holy Scripture. It’s found in Philippians 3:13 and was written by the apostle Paul, who himself had a sordid and painful past, to be sure. He said, as part of the answer to his painful past, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended [fully comprehended]: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before…” In other words, the goal for each individual suffering from painful past memories is not to dig around in the past but to let it go and experience a new spiritual and emotional life that Jesus Christ wants people to have in the present (and into the future) through a deep and meaningful relationship with Him.
If you would like help dealing with your past, please contact the Valley Forge Biblical Counseling Center at 866.828.9667 to make an appointment.
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