PSALM 23 – “A Psalm of David.  The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

THEME OF THE DAY: LOOKING OVER OUR SHOULDERS.   There is an area in the life of every Christian the devil will seek to exploit.  If he is successful, gone is our joy, peace, and abundant life Jesus came to give.

As the accuser of our souls (Revelation 12:10), Satan brings accusations to us in this key area.  Sadly, contrary to his character as the father of lies, his accusations are true.   What is this area the devil works overtime toward Christians?  Our past.

Every human being, including Christians, have a past, I am not referring to years lived, but in actions taken, especially the ones we are not proud of.  In fact, we have past experiences and consequences which are shameful and regretful.  It is the reality of sin and our being deceived.  And what the devil does is bring up our past with the fiery darts of condemnation causing us to “look over our shoulders” out of fear of exposure or punishment.  But what is the truth about our past?

In the letter to the Hebrews, we find the liberating truth of our past sins and failures – “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12).  Pay attention to what God doesn’t do – forget our sins. God cannot forget anything.  And that is good, actually, great news.  If He could forget our sins, He could also forget His promises.  We certainly don’t want that!  We live by His promises. They are the lifeblood of the Christian. So, God doesn’t forget our past. He does something greater. He chooses not to remember. What a source of encouragement and freedom to walk in the confidence of God’s forgiveness and non-remembrance!

There is another lesson about dealing with our past. It comes from the ending of today’s scripture.  How does David end his psalm?  He doesn’t look over his shoulder and say “Surely regret, remorse, and shame from my past shall follow me all the days of my life.”    He sees his past, and so must we, as God does.  As a result, when he looks over his shoulder this is what he sees and says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

May the Lord help us to see our past as He does – forgiven, not remembered, never to haunt us, and not following us as we walk with the Lord in the present.

PRAYER: Lord, I praise You that my many past sins are not what You remember when You look at me.

REFLECTION: Our past can never haunt us. It has been replaced by the goodness and mercy of the Lord.