07/02/2024
Do you ever struggle with haunting memories from your past? Disappointments over missed opportunities or regrets over the many would’ve-could’ve-should’ve moments that have long ago slipped away?
Or maybe inside you, locked deeply in the vault of your hidden self, you are holding on to shame from the wrongs you’ve done or the wrongs done to you.
The problem with the past is that it tends to get in the way of the present. It’s like an overbearing guardian who never lets us out of his sight and is all too ready to “lower the boom” if we ever open the vault of our hidden self. We have a slight suspicion that the only way to find freedom is to swing wide the door of our past, but we’re afraid of what might come rushing out of Pandora’s Box.
In a counseling session many years ago, the counselor told me that Pandora’s Box has been given a bad rap. We don’t want to open the box due to fear of what might come forth. But the power of the Greek legend is that when Pandora opened the box, although it released pestilence, sickness, and death, it ultimately revealed the underlying layer of hope.
Sometimes, we have to dig through the layers to find the hidden gem. We have to sift through the mud, clay, and silt to discover the nugget of gold. Jesus told the story of how “the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field” (Matthew 13:44). A man dug through the dirt to find the treasure and ultimately bought the field to possess it.
You may feel like your past doesn’t have any hidden treasures but only pain, sorrow, and grief. But what if you open the door to release that pain, sorrow, and grief, and underneath it all, you discover the hidden treasure of hope?
Your past can be a stepping stone or a roadblock to a hope-filled future. I often find myself coming back to God’s words spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19).
I encourage you right now to sift through your past, release it, and discover the hidden gems of the new things God has for your life. Move forward in faith, and, as Will Rogers once wrote, “Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.” And all God’s people said, “Amen.”
