Living The Jesus Life

‘Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.’

(Philippians 3:13-14 NLT)

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the past lately.

At certain points in my adult-past I’ve sought out therapy to help me unpack and unpick some of the things that may not have necessarily been the best experiences in my past.

Therapy, or seeing a counsellor, are very popular nowadays. More-so in the States, perhaps, than in the UK, but popular nonetheless.

Now, I personally don’t have a problem with therapy. I have friends who are in therapy, I have been in therapy myself and I even have friends who are Therapists! I am not about to shoot anyone down for seeing a Therapist or for being in a season of therapy. 

But, in all honestly, I do sometimes wonder how much good it is doing us to constantly be looking inward…and backwards.

There is a scripture that talks about the end times in the Bible. It says that, towards the end of our time on Earth, people will become lovers of the self (2 Timothy 3:2) and I cannot help but think about all of the ‘self-help’ books, podcasts and courses you can indulge in these days.

Are these the days that were spoken of in the Bible?

I raise all of this because I believe that there is a healthy solution…

As followers of Jesus, we have this incredible companion in our lives called The Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit has many names, one of which is Counsellor.

The Holy Spirit is part of the triune nature of God – Father, Son, Spirit. And if God dreamt up and created us all as human beings, and the trinity are equal parts of God, then the Holy Spirit knows us just as well as God does.

He knows what has happened in our past.

He knows what we are going through in the present day.

He knows what we will experience in the future.

And most importantly He knows what needs attention in us and what needs to be left alone. 

Friends, if you are struggling to function in your everyday life and the Holy Spirit brings to your mind therapy/counselling or the like, perhaps you are being encouraged to explore healing in this kind of setting.

There is no shame in that. 

He knows what has happened in our past.
He knows what we are going through in the present day.
He knows what we will experience in the future.

Personally, I believe that if your life is being impacted negatively by your past, then unpicking and unpacking historical patterns can be hugely helpful.

What I also believe is that we should not go looking for or digging for problems in our past or with ourselves unnecessarily. 

If you are functioning in a healthy way and find yourself overly consumed with your past, therapy or counselling, maybe it’s time to take your eyes off of your rear view mirror and set your gaze on the main road ahead of you. 

Imagine if Paul, the writer of Philippians, had overly concerned himself with his past…he was a murderer! Of Christians! Who now claimed to be a Christian himself!

I am almost certain that the enemy of our souls – Satan – often liked to remind Paul of his past mistakes and devastating choices.

But Paul encourages us in scripture to forget the former things and to press ahead with our lives – Heavenward!

These thoughts come from a loving friend who, as I say, has been in therapy and found it helpful. 

My main reason for sharing my thoughts rather than allowing them to stay in my phone notes is that I believe we need to push against the end times spirit that is trying to get us to focus solely on ourselves.

Let us not forget that the Healer Himself is in our very midst. 

If you don’t know who I mean by ‘Healer’, His name is Jesus. And He is the One best placed to comfort, soothe and heal our fractured hearts, no matter what season of life we find ourselves in. 

If you want to know Him, it would be my pleasure and privilege to tell you a little bit more about Him.

Just reach out.

Photo by Robin Edqvist on Unsplash