NEW SERIES: TRANSITIONING INTO 2022 TO BE YOUR BEST YOU Part I: How to Put the Stresses of 2021 Behind You - Don't Look Back

What do you think has been keeping you from getting what you want? I’m not referring to the material wants that didn’t come your way last year. I’m talking about the dreams you had for 2021. Did you hope for less stress and worries?  How is that going for you? Did you expect to experience greater joy and contentment? Are you there yet?

All the stresses and uncertainties related to Covid have carried right on into 2022. It’s the virus that just keeps on giving. These are difficult times. I wonder if there has ever been this much hostility and division among political parties and cultural groups as there is right now? What if this year doesn’t bring with it the positive changes you hope to see? What if your circumstances don’t change and you find yourself stuck in the same yuk you’re in today?  

This is the first of a six part series that I pray will help you become the best “You” possible in 2022. If you’re frustrated with your status quo, then choosing to do nothing to make a change may cost you yet another year full of anxieties, resentments and feelings of insignificance. It doesn’t have to. This week let’s look at our first step aimed to help us transition into a much better new year.

Put the past behind you and DON’T LOOK BACK.  We can control very little of what takes place around us. Cancer strikes, lockdowns happen, people disappoint us . . .  We live in a broken world and we can expect hardships to be part of life. Jesus tells us this in John 6:33, “In this world you will have trouble.” In order to experience God’s best for you this year, your BEST YOU, start with something you do have control over. You can choose to leave the past in the past and to focus on the now. 

A runner in a race must dismiss all the distractions around him. If he keeps looking back he will lose his race. Rehashing our past mistakes is a waste of time. Remember that any guilt or shame you feel is not from God. It’s the enemy that wants to keep you stuck in your past regrets. The apostle Paul urges us to “get rid of all evil behavior” 1Peter 2:1. Paul himself violently persecuted Christians before He became one. But he didn’t dwell on his past offenses. He kept pressing ahead. Energy spent on regrets takes away positive energy we can devote toward doing better next time. Learn from your screw ups and move on. God is a God of grace who forgives. 

Stop replaying past experiences where someone has hurt you. This is like picking a scab off a wound that has almost healed. Not good! Why go there? Unforgiveness affects the brain in a chemical way that makes us more susceptible to pain and distress. Holding onto unforgiveness and bitterness chains us to our past and prevents us from progressing forward. Your future is determined by what you choose to do in the present moment you’ve been given. 

Don’t beat yourself up for whatever place you find yourself starting off this new year. It’s easy to get off track. We hop on the train of good intentions for “doing better” yet we miss the mark. Just look at how crowded the gym is every year in the month of January. Look again six months later! It’s our human nature to go with what we’re used to. But God wants us to experience a superhuman nature in Him. Yes, remember your past sins and the problems they caused, but only so that you don’t repeat yourself in the future. Friend, God is not asking you to attempt this endeavor of forgetting your past in order to become your best “You” on your own. He will help you. Ask Him. You can do “all things through Christ who strengthens you.” (Phil 4:13)  

Paul says it perfectly in Philippians 3:13 when he says, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead . . .” 

Now stop dwelling on times past. Consider those days as done and settled. God is with you now, in this present moment. 

What is something you can choose to do today to leave your past behind you? Look up the definition of “Bitterness” and see if this describes you. Ask the Lord what He wants you to do with this.