Don't Look Back
Satan likes to utilize our past to fill us with pain, regret, fear, anger, hostility, shame, doubt and guilt...all in an effort to rob us of our joy and peace in the present.
Even more dangerous, the enemy can glamorize the past in a way that makes us love, lust or long for our old lives. This is a dangerous, slippery slope! Remember Lot's wife!
In contrast, God would have us give praise, honor and glory to Him for all the ways He has redeemed, renewed and restored our lives. The past, along with the present and future, belong to Him.
We are to honor Him by surrendering the past to Him...partner with Him...trust and obey Him to make all things new...praise Him for all He has done and will continue to do. Give Him all the glory for how He made it possible for us to come to Him, receive His Grace...covered, sanctified and reconciled by The Blood of The Lamb...transformed and regenerated by The Holy Spirit.
There is no place in the present or our future for anything old, as we are a new creation...kin with Christ...citizens of Heaven. Our past is our biggest indicator of how desperately we need our Savior!
If there is anything useful from our dark, dreary and broken-down past, God can and will transform it into something beautiful, all according to His Will and all for His Marvelous Glory...
Just don't look back.
"Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert." (Isaiah 43:19)
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)