Put The Past Behind you

Daily Devotional

Genesis 41:51-52 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. 52 And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

You can either let your past be your past or let your past be your present. After Joseph realized his dream, he had two sons. The first son he named Manasseh which means God has made me to forget, for he says the Lord had made me to forget all my toil and my father’s house. He had a second son and he called that son Ephraim, which means fruitfulness. The lesson that the scripture wants to teach is that before you reach the place of fruitfulness, you must put the past behind you. Joseph had to forgive his brothers and put aside the habit of being boastful before he realized the dream.

The Children of Israel too had to put their past behind them before they could possess their promised land. Their habit of doubting God prevented them from entering the Promised Land the first time around. Thereafter, they had to wait 40 years until the older generation (past) died out, before they were able to enter the land promise.

What is the habit or mindset that you need to leave behind today? Is it mediocrity? Lack of wisdom? Doubt? Not following divine instructions? Do you lack focus? Are you positioned in the wrong field? Do you lack consistency? Whatever it is, choose to leave it in the past.

Life Application:  Make an inventory of habits that you must leave behind and start forming new habits today.

Prayer: Dear Lord, you have freed me from the past through your blood. I pray that I will not allow my past to steal the future you have planned for me. I declare that I will walk in the freedom that you have given me as I use the lessons from the past as stepping stones for the future. In Jesus name, amen.