Down Gilead Lane, Season 9 | Episode 12

LETTING GO

Season Description

Change is in the Air…Down Gilead Lane College life for Brooke, a new addition to the family and the office of Mayor for John – all situations that can bring stress, discomfort and…opportunities to trust. The Morrison’s learn to turn to God for the answers to all of these changes and move in 12 compelling episodes. In this season you’ll find a new addition to the Morrison family that was introduced in the Special episode, “The Hope That Heals”. Don’t forget to listen to that episode too!

Today’s Story

Tim Morrison is not happy!  As the rest of his family attempt to reach out to him, it becomes clear that Tim is still holding on to the past.  The prospect of a new neighbor in Mr. Key’s old house and a new sister in Brooke’s old room seem like too much all at once.  What will it take for Tim to let go of the past?

 

How about you…

Do changes throw you for a loop?  Do you feel yourself holding on to good memories of that past and resisting relationships and opportunities that come to you right now?

 

Check this out…

There’s nothing wrong with remembering good times of the past.  But God doesn’t want us to get “stuck” there.  He wants us to live in the present.  In the third chapter of Philippians, the apostle Paul talks about his own memories of the past and his goals for the future.  You see, Paul had achieved a lot of success in the eyes of the world—a lot of things he could be proud of—memories he could have gotten stuck in.  But what he wanted more than anything was just to know his Lord, Jesus Christ better.  Compared to that, all his accomplishments were like garbage.  At the same time, Paul acknowledged that he wasn’t yet where he wanted to be in his relationship with Jesus.  It was a goal: a future he was working toward.  So, knowing what Paul thought about his past and his future, how do you think Paul lived in the present?  Well, take a look at verses 13 and 14 and see for yourself:

 

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

It’s good to remember the past so we can know where we’ve come from, and it’s important to have goals for the future too.  But we’ll never move out of our past, and we’ll never reach those goals if we don’t press toward them right now.  Always striving forward, just like Paul—that’s how God wants us to live each moment He gives us!