Get Radical

A few months ago I heard a song on the radio by For King and Country.  The name of the song, "Burn the Ships" was a very strange song title to me, and as I listened to the song, I thought, what an odd thing to do...burn ships.  But then I heard it a few more times, and listened a bit more closely...and I started thinking, "that's radical."   Burn the ships, completely sever ties to the past. 

Wow.  What a concept.  Over the last few months I've been reminded of the need for us to leave our prisons behind and walk in freedom, get rid of the old self, put on the new self remade in Christ's image, and break the chains that hold us down.  Maybe to do this, to break free of our past mistakes, our sins, the past that we feel enslaved to, that molded us into fearful, angry, doubtful, hardened, closed off, sad...throw your own adjective in there, people we need to "burn the ships" as it were.  Not only do we stop looking back, we stop letting what was back there reach in and control our present and our future. 

I'm thinking, when we walk through the day to day, we see ourselves and our lives in a certain way.  "Our ship" as it were is built by the past...what we've done, what's been done to us, the circumstances we've been in, maybe what others have said to or about us...but that is not what God desires.  He desires us to walk though our days seeing ourselves as He sees us, seeing our lives in the light of His grace and redemption.  He desires us to walk in humble faith with Him.  To me, that means leaving all the garbage of the past behind.  Get rid of it!   Paul said it in Philippians 3:13-14 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.  We can look up, we can look forward, but we need to stop looking back.  The only thing we need to take with us to define our days is memories of God's faithfulness! 

We can remember that God says In Isaiah 61:3  To all who mourn in Israel, He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.  In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.  What is more radical than that!  Beauty for ashes, joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of the deep darkness of despair. 

I'm thinking this radical forgetting is chain breaking.  Every time a dark tentacle from the past reaches out to claim our thoughts, filling our mind with regret or guilt, or negative, never win, I'm no good thoughts, we see those things burning to ashes...and the truth of God's Word rising up in beauty to show us who we are in Christ, and fill us with the hope of His future for us. 

Father, help us to get radical!  Help us to let go of the past and lift our gaze to You.  You define us, You have destined us for glory, for being transformed into the image of Your Son.  Lord, no matter how horrible the past may have been, You are our Redeemer.  It's not easy to walk away from what came before....but through You I know we can.  We can be overcomers.  We can be transformed.  Your plans are good.  Help us to forget what lies behind and reach out for the prize of You, and the hope You give us.  Thank You.  We want to walk in freedom.  In Jesus grace filled Name.  Amen.

Get studying.  The Scripture is our match to set us free!  Pick out the verses that speak to your personal "past chain" and use them to break free.   And remember, prayer...it's your flare! 

Isaiah 43:19  For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.