Should we let go?

People often say, ‘You must let go of your past.’ But, it is our past which forms us into the people we are. It was our teacher as we learned from our mistakes. It taught us what or who was dangerous.

The past is that part of us which can never be undone, yet the Bible says, ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing,’ (Isaiah 43:18-19). To ‘not dwell’ means to stop trying to understand what went wrong. It means to stop trying to figure out the ‘Why?’

The unjust hurts will eat up our life, but we can turn our heads the other way. We can let go of the unanswered ‘Whys’ and begin to see God’s new.

(photo by Gantas Vaičiulėnas: pexels.com)

What really is fear?

It always amazes me how new insights can come years after a situation has passed…

I grew up with a lot of fear, and have worked hard over the decades to overcome it. Yet, a stark reality hit home as I read Proverbs 29:25, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare.”

The Bible called my past fears exactly what they were – traps. For this is what fear does – it captures us, makes us a prisoner, and we can’t escape.

But as I read the next part of that verse, I saw the key to that trap, one which took me years to find – “but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” For a trap has NO power as we trust in God. Our escape is real.

Photo by Folco Masi on Unsplash