Mistakes happen. We miscalculate. We make wrong choices. We drop the ball. When we do, we feel bad. We want to hide. We want to deny. We want to shift blame. We can even begin to define ourselves by our mistakes. And we think they disqualify us from pursuing our dreams. So we use them as an excuse to pack away our dreams and forget they were ever in our hearts.
But we are not defined by our mistakes. We are defined, at least in part, by what we do with them. Do we allow our mistakes to dictate who we are and what we will do? Or do we learn what we can from them and move on? God's word encourages us to do the latter. Philippians 3:13 says, 'forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus'. Forgetting what is behind requires us to let go of past mistakes. We acknowledge them, ask for forgiveness, make restitution, learn from them, and then let them go. In doing so, we are able to pursue what we have been called to do without being weighed down by our past.
We may not like to admit it, but we all make mistakes. We're human. The question is, are you going to use them as an excuse to give up, or will you let them go and press on?
