Finding Hope When We Look in The Rearview Mirror of Our Lives, Part 2

Each of us has distinguishing physical features, including scars that are simply part of who we are. Each of my scars represents a story, involving either my foolishness or something that happened to me outside my control.

Our past is like that! It is marked by scars that are the result of our foolishness and scars that represent events outside our control. I talked to a teen once who told me he wished there was a way to completely erase his memory so he could start a day with a completely clean slate. Like that teen, many of us think we would be better off with no memory of the past. But is that true? What if our past is not entirely a bad thing? What if there were a way to look at our negative-seeming past in a positive way?

Our past is in essence a record of God’s past dealings with us. Last week I encouraged you to think correctly about God when you survey your past, and that means to focus on Who God is while you review what happened to you. Below are two suggestions to help you clarify your view of God.

1. As you read God’s Word, look for characters in Scripture who had circumstances like yours.
   Study their lives asking this question: “What did God do in their lives that He has also done in mine?” I believe you will find many parallels. Just as God spared them from things, He has spared you from things. Think about it right now. What has He spared you from? I believe you will also find that just as God gave special provision to them, God has also met your needs in special ways. Combat bad memories of the past with thanks for things God provided in your past. You will also find that God often led people to particular destinations and for particular causes through the difficulties they encountered. Have you thought about the places God led you and the things He has allowed you to do because of your past? This simple exercise has a way of driving us to the Word where we are reminded that God is constantly at work in our lives and does not take His hand off us during hardships.
2. Look for promises in Scripture.
   Do you realize that God’s promises are not prevented by the difficulties we encounter in life? He is a God of His Word. He always does what He said He would do. As you look for promises in Scripture, stop, and ask yourself, “How have I seen these promises fulfilled in my past?”

Both exercises drive you to the Scripture, which is a wonderful thing, because the Bible is the chief tool in helping us respond to our past the right way. The Scripture neither changes our past nor erases our past. But it does enable us to have a right view of God so that we can better read our past and respond rightly to it.

Diagnostic Questions

As we examine our past events, we also need to ask two questions that enable us to categorize our past correctly. The first question is, “Was this an event where I suffered (because of either another person’s sinful actions against me or because of the general trials that result from living in a sin-cursed world) or where I sinned?” Our ability to answer this question is important, because clarifying the nature of what happened in my past helps us find and apply the appropriate solution from Scripture.

The second question is, “How did I respond?” Sometimes when we suffered at the hands of others or in the general trials of life, we responded well! At other times, we sorely displeased the Lord in how we chose to think, act, or respond. The same is true about our past regarding our sinful choices. Sometimes we were quick to repent and humbly submit to God, and other times we were hardheaded and took additional steps down the wrong path.

Our answers to these diagnostic questions help us locate the specific truths of Scripture that we can apply to our specific events of the past. When we think Biblically about life in an organized, Biblical fashion, we will soon discover that a significant portion of Scripture is narratives that mirror our own circumstances and give us multifaceted solutions to our multifaceted past.

Think about it this way:

1. To those who suffered innocently but responded right, you have the riveting story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50.
2. To those who suffered innocently but didn’t respond right, you have the sobering story of Naomi in the book of Ruth.
3. To those who sinned in your past and did respond right, you have the humbling story of the disciple Peter.
4. To those who sinned in your past and did not respond right, you have the sad story of King David.

Today, here is your homework. Practice the discipline of categorizing your past correctly. You may not be responsible for all that is in your past, but you are responsible for how you respond to each event. My prayer is that God will help you respond right with the help of these thoughts.

Ron Perry is the pastor of Faith Baptist Church of Folsom, California. This post first appeared on the Faith Baptist Church blog page, and we republish with his permission.