What To Do When Your Past Is Haunting You

Some people are so guilt ridden because of the wrong they have done. Life for them has come to a standstill. They are unable to move on with living. 

What tends to happen at this point is that everything that happens to them is now filtered through the lens of guilt. They interpret negative experiences as punishment for their wrongdoing. They begin to think this is their reaping of what they have sown. Granted, there are times when we do reap what we sow. That is the law of sowing and reaping.

However not every negative thing that happen has to do with the wrong that was done. The mind will lean in that direction every time, if you let it.

That is no way to live life. How can you become productive when this mindset exists? It’s virtually impossible. 

Here are four suggestions as to how to let go of the past:

1. Admit / acknowledge the wrong that you have done
2. Confess and seek forgiveness
3. Forgive yourself 
4. Live knowing you have been forgiven

Of the above four suggestions, I find that many people have a very difficult time with forgiving self. They blame themselves for whatever happened and feel like they deserve what they have gotten as a result … their punishment. Granted this might be true, but how helpful is that way of thinking? To forgive yourself, think of what resources you had back then. Your age, stage of life, education, etc. With what you had then, you did what you did.

Think of where you are now and with what you know, would you have done what you did? Maybe not. It is so much easier to see the glaring mistake or bad decision you made then by looking through your current lens. You are looking through a more mature and knowledgable lens, which magnifies the past. This makes it harder to forgive self. Therefore, use the context of where you were then to offer self forgiveness.

In the Old Testament book of Samuel, we see how the children of Israel messed up big time in their rejection of God. They interpreted what was happening to them as a result of their messing up. Samuel counseled them as to what they should now do.

“Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him. (1 Samuel 12:20 NLT) It’s like what Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery,”go and sin no more.”

Therefore “don’t let your past wrong keep you from your present right.” This is a lesson that I have learned so you could say I am speaking from experience.

What other thoughts do you have on the matter of moving away from your haunting past? Comment in the box below.