Being thankful requires us to show gratitude for all the people we’ve met in our lives. It also means we have to be grateful for who we are. 

In addition to the above, we also need to be thankful for our past. 

The reason is that people are connected, one way or another, with much of what happens to us. 

It also points us back to the fact that everything that happens to us produces some form of emotion and feeling. 

Keep in mind that your emotions and feelings aren’t connected to your future, but your past. And, your past means the people you’ve encountered, as well as all the circumstances you’ve gone through. 

Also, know that there is no feeling yet about what you have not encountered (your future).

Feelings (and emotions) are how we respond to things that have already taken place, not the ones that have not yet occurred (future). 

[bctt tweet=”You can only be thankful for your past when you have set yourself free from it.” username=””]

How then can we set ourselves free from our past?

 

Shift Your Focus

 

Take a look at Isaiah 12:2, 

God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid.” ESV.

To best understand “salvation,” you need to go back to the original text, and you will discover then that the word (Yeshuah in Hebrew) means: 

• • • Deeds of deliverance. 
    • Help. 
    • Victory. 
    • Security (safety). 

[bctt tweet=”Shifting your focus then implies setting your minds on what God can do for you: salvation. You do that because God is your anchor. ” username=””]

What God does for you, from now on, belongs to your future. And, God holds your future in His hands! 

God is your salvation and shelter. When you call on Jesus’ name (Yeshuah), God comes to your rescue. 

In other words, God stops everything He is doing to save you. He is your anchor and redeemer! 

God wants you to stop focusing on what you’re feeling today because it leads you back to your past. 

Read Isaiah 43: 18-19, 

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” NIV. 

Our past shapes how we feel about: 

• • • God.
    • Self. 
    • People. 
    • Surroundings. 

The choices we make today will affect how we will feel in the future. 

Choosing not to dwell on our past means we want to focus not on how we feel today (the present and now), but on what God is about to do for us!

That’s what you see in the second part of the Scripture above: “See, I am doing a new thing.” 

It’s a conscious choice you’ve got to make, which you should do every day, to focus on nothing else rather than the new thing God is doing for you. 

 

Let Go of Your Past

 

You’ve got to let go of your past. 

Three things you could do include: 

• • • Judge not (Luke 6: 37). 
    • Condemn not (James 4: 12). 
    • Forgive. 

Doing the above means the following: 

• • • You don’t blame anything or anybody for what has happened to you in the past. 
    • You condemn no one as the reason why you went through some “not so good” experience in life. 
    • You set yourself free.
    • You choose to deal only with what you can change. 
    • You don’t expect anything in return. 

Don’t get me wrong here!

You will never forget much of what happened to you in your past. And, the reason why you won’t remember is that there is some emotional attachment to each of your past circumstances. 

Things we always remember is because they mean something to us, whether it’s bad or good. 

Anything terrible, and which brings about pain and hurt to you, is what God wants you to let go. 

The way to do it is to change your perception of everything that has happened to you. Look at each event as a piece of the puzzle. 

Even though you don’t have any idea of what the puzzle will look like in the end, trust that God is always in control. 

God is the builder who will help you put all the pieces together someday. Knowing that life comes in seasons means that every season is some puzzle.

[bctt tweet=”The different events we go through in life are the building stones God uses to help you make sense of the future God has in His hands for you. ” username=””]

If a piece does not fit anywhere on the puzzle, that may be because it belongs to another puzzle relate to a different season in your life. 

People, you wish you had never known in your life, are pieces of the puzzle God wants you to put together. Someday, they may come in handy because they each belong to a specific season of your life. 

To let go of your past is, therefore, choosing to look at everything from your past as pieces of a puzzle, God wants you to put together. 

I guarantee you that God makes all things, including all those painful and hurtful pieces of the puzzle, work according to the purpose He has with you. 

 

In Summary

Shift your focus from your past to the future God holds in His hands for you and let go of your past. Doing so will enable you always to be grateful. Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ, no matter what you’re going through right now believing, and proclaim the truth that God has a brighter future for you in His hands.