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The human mind is an amazing storehouse of memories—the accumulation of a lifetime of facts and experiences. Luke tells us that the astounding details of the incarnation of our Savior were treasured up in Mary’s heart (Luke 2:19). In the divinely created treasure chest of the heart, there are “sweet memories”—births, graduations, weddings, and vacations, to name a few. But in that same chest are stored painful memories—illnesses, injuries, accidents, betrayals, and sinful treasons. Some memories haunt us and can even cause us to (wrongly) doubt our salvation.
With the advance of years and the encroachments of old age, we become increasingly forgetful and have difficulty remembering names and facts and even little things. The aging Apostle Paul, writing from house arrest in Rome to the dearly beloved Philippian saints, tells his readers of his present circumstances and imparts to them spiritual counsel. In Philippians 3, he reflects on his preconversion life (vv. 4–6), recounting the “assets” that he had counted on to make him right with God. Yet God’s grace intervened, and he jettisoned all those “assets” in exchange for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as his Lord and having His righteousness as his own (vv. 7–9). From that point onward, he was like a runner pressing toward the goal (vv. 12–14). Sprinting for the finish line, he stressed the importance of “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” (v. 13). The runner who looks back loses sight of the goal and is in danger of being passed by another runner. So, too, we must forget what is behind as we run the race that is set before us, and that means leaving behind past failures that can paralyze us and past successes that can make us prideful and complacent.
We all have things in our lives that we would like to forget, but it’s as though they are written on our minds with indelible ink. They are painful things and shameful things, but the enemy of our souls keeps flashing them before our eyes, reminding us that we are of no use to God. How can we forget the unforgettable?
The words of Isaiah 43:25 provide great help here: “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” Can the omniscient God forget? Certainly not. Sins are not literally erased from God’s memory, but they are no longer held against His people. For those on whom God’s lavish grace has been poured, there is forgiveness—full forgiveness for sins past, present, and even future. This is glorious freedom.
So when Satan seeks to disable you with the memory of past sins, focus rather on the full and free forgiveness that we have in Christ. Fix your gaze on Jesus and press on toward the goal that lies before us (Phil. 3:14; Heb. 12:1–2). You can’t run the race while looking backward.