Disappointments are a part of life. So is failure. So, also is rejection. It hurts when we experience it. When things don’t work out as planned; when we fail in something, be it an exam, a career, or a responsibility; or when someone we love dumps us, it hurts. Sometimes it hurts like crazy. Getting upset, sad, or angry is a natural thing, and we are entitled to it, but when it continues beyond a certain point, it is damaging and prevents us from moving forward and living the fullness of life. It also doesn’t allow us to realize God’s grand plans for our lives.
Yet, that’s what many of us do. We walk through life looking backward. We constantly replay our mistakes. We relive the injuries people have caused us. We bring up all the bad things that happened to mind over and over and over again. To what point? There’s nothing we can do about it, is there? We cannot change the past. It’s over. But the future lies ahead.
And the future is bright. God has amazing plans for us. He will open new doors for us, leading to new experiences and adventures. He has prepared fresh challenges that will allow us to attain great victories and achieve huge successes. He has people lined up along the path who will appreciate us, affirm us, encourage us, support us, and, oh yes, love us!
God wants us to enjoy all these things he has in store, but he cannot if we are looking in the wrong direction: backward. So, let us make our peace with whatever and whoever and move on. Life is too short to waste moping on the past.
Let us take a page from the apostle Paul’s book, who had his share of failures. He loved Christ, and his overwhelming desire was to take hold of the fullness of his new life in Christ. Despite trying his best, he occasionally failed, but he had a very healthy attitude toward failure.
“Brothers and sisters,” he said in a letter he wrote to the Philippians. I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14). He knew there was nothing he could do about what had happened, but there was plenty he could do about what was to be.
Let us choose to do what Paul did. Let us choose to look ahead!
God bless you.
