Flip Wilson, a comedian, once said, “Da devil made me do it!” Everyone laughed. It seems everyone can relate to that statement. Instead of accepting responsibility for your actions, you blame the devil. On a serious note, one area that the devil targets every human being, both the Christian and the unbeliever, is to cause you to focus on the mistakes you have made in your life. If only you had not done this, or said that, or you should have said something, or that time you should have acted but did not is what the devil brings to your memory. The results can make feelings of failure overpower you.
An unknown author gives some sound advice in dealing with mistakes you have made: “A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” Now, there is a world of wisdom in that statement. Notice, the one thing the quote does not say, is that you need to keep rehearsing in your mind the mistakes you made. They are in the past, so you need to keep them in the past.
One Bible character who made plenty of mistakes before becoming a Christian, is the apostle Paul. In Philippians 4 he describes the supremacy of Christ as Lord in his life. As he reflects on things in his past and how he deals with them, he says: “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (vv. 13-14). Take a lesson from Paul; do not think about past mistakes and failures. Focus on those Godly goals and living how you need to. Start with the present and keep in view the future.
Don’t listen to that devil talk about your mistakes and failures. Focus your full attention on what you are going to do today and in the future for God’s kingdom glory.
