June 17
Neither Present Nor Future
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ––Romans 8:38-39
Have you heard the phrase, “The past is prologue”? It’s an often-cited line from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and is the idea that behaviors, patterns, and events tend to repeat, making history a guide to what might happen next. If you are anything like me, you can relate. The habits we form tend to stick with us, as do the patterns and behaviors we’ve developed over the decades. That’s great when it comes to things like personal safety (not crossing a busy street on a red light), but it can also make it hard to break old habits (like driving too fast or eating too much fast food).
Notice, though, that when Paul gives us assurance about our security in Christ in Romans 8, He doesn’t say “neither past, present, nor future” will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ? That’s because when we dwell excessively on the past, the enemy can use it to drive a wedge between us and God. Think about it this way: The only two states of time we have any control over are the present and the future—there’s nothing we can do to change the past.
Man of God, Satan will do everything he can to make sure you remember that the past is prologue—that “you will never change,” or that “you will never be free” from that certain sin pattern or addiction. And THAT is how the enemy gets us. Paul knew that, and it’s why he tells the Romans neither their present or future can separate them from God. The past? That’s another story.
Most of the “head work” Satan tries to do on us involves the past. Or he reminds us of the past as a predictor for the present and future. Don’t let him. As always, the battle is in the mind, and we need to meditate on this powerful truth:
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ––2 Corinthians 10:4-5
Divine power. That’s how we beat the devil—we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to free us from our past, and from dwelling upon it. And dwelling and denying are two very different things: We don’t deny our mistakes, but rather we confess them, make amends to those we’ve wronged, and then move forward. In that way, the past stays the past, and we are set free so God can radically change both our present and our future.
Father, thank You that when it comes to my sin, the past is not prologue. I surrender my past to You, and ask that You transform me today so that I might more fruitfully serve You in the future.