Getting Past the Past
It’s natural, at times, to look back on our lives and wonder, “What might have been?” or to say, “If only …” Along the way we may accumulate regrets and remember missed opportunities, sometimes focusing more on the past than the future.
Remembering such experiences can be constructive, helping us to change and become better.[1] But focusing too much on the past can be like embarking on a countryside drive only to find ourselves circling the same landmark over and over again.
Getting past the past can be difficult. But as we take the necessary steps to pull away from old circular patterns that repeatedly carry us through the valleys of our mistakes, we find joy. We experience the beauty of new beginnings, new frontiers, and new challenges. The past, now in the rearview mirror, becomes a teacher rather than a master.
But it’s not enough to simply forget the past. Without resolution, guilt lives on. Doing all we can to correct the past enables us to move forward, unshackled and unencumbered. Eventually—though regret may linger—with God’s help our guilt is swept away.
As Charles Spurgeon once proclaimed, “Repentance is the clearing away of rubbish of the past.”[2] We develop “a tenderness of repentance … and of holy desire for the future.”[3]
Like the Apostle Paul, as we repent of past mistakes and focus on the future, we can escape the sting of “those things which are behind and [reach] forward to those things which are ahead.”[4]
Getting past the past requires us to correct what we can. Paying that price—to the very best of our ability—allows the circular road we may have been traveling to straighten its course and, with heaven’s help, lead us toward new horizons. We then recognize it’s time to move forward. “Whatever mistakes we have made, whatever debts we have incurred, whatever duties we have deferred, our only way out is ahead.”[5]
May we focus on the future by first correcting what we can from the past. Then may we move forward with renewed confidence, allowing the past to be our teacher rather than our master.
[1] See John Calvin’s commentary on Philippians 3:13, Bible Portal, bibleportal.com.
[2] Charles H. Spurgeon, “Christ’s First and Last Subject,” Christian Classics Ethereal Library, ccel.org/ccel/spuregon/sermons06.xxx.html
[3] Charles H. Spurgeon, “Their Desired Heaven,” Christian Classics Ethereal Library, ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/sermons58.xxxiv.html
[4] Philippians 3:13, New King James Version.
[5] Richard L. Evans, “Rearview Living,” July 16, 1950, richardlevans.org.
September 27, 2026
Broadcast Number 5,063
The Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Tempe Square
Conductor
Mack Wilberg
Organist
Richard Elliott
Host
Derrick Porter
O Come, Ye Nations of the Earth
German Hymn Tune; arr. Mack Wilberg
Hallelujah from Christ on the Mount of Olives
Ludwig van Beethoven
Norwegian Rustic March, from Lyric Pieces, op. 54
Edvard Grieg; arr. Richard Elliott
Be Thou My Vision
Traditional Irish Melody; arr. Mack Wilberg
We Thank Thee, Lord, for This New Day
Mack Wilberg
One Person, from Dear World
Jerry Herman; arr. Ryan Murphy
Thou Gracious God, Whose Mercy Lends
Old British Tune; arr. Mack Wilberg