Rudder or Anchor?

Some of life’s greatest lessons are learned in reverse. You wish you’d never gone there, done that, or spewed those hateful words at him or her. We cannot change the past, but we can let the past change us when we assign it as our teacher and not as our accuser. Pastor Warren Wiersbe wisely said, “Let the past be a rudder to guide you, not an anchor to drag you down.”

Don’t spend today obsessing over what happened yesterday. Instead, each time you find yourself ruing a past sin, thank God for bringing you out of it. Praise Him for being your hiding place, protecting you from trouble, and inclining your ears to listen while He surrounds you with His songs of deliverance (see Psalm 32:7).

Next, take the time to acknowledge how far you’ve come, what you’ve done right, and the positive changes you’ve made. You are not perfect yet, but you are definitely a work in progress.