“And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, art not thou also one of his disciples: he denied it, and said I am not. Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew” (John 18:25,27).
Did you know that if you refuse to let go of your past, you would never move toward your future? This is what almost happened to Peter.
Of course, Peter told Jesus he would die with Him and that he would never leave Him. Jesus knew what Peter would do, and He told Peter before the cock crows three times, Peter would deny Him. Naturally Peter vehemently disagreed; after all, he would never do such a thing. But here we find him in verse 27 denying that he ever knew Jesus. I mean Peter was heartbroken. He loved Jesus. He never believed he would ever do that.
You may be in the same situation. You may have done some things since you’ve been saved that you never thought you would do. But I’m here to tell you when confess it before God, He is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you of all unrighteousness, so you can move forward in Christ Jesus.
Three days after Jesus was crucified, He rose again and appeared before over 500 eyewitnesses including His disciples. You would think that after Peter saw Jesus, he would be recharged again. After all, Jesus is alive. He’s not dead!
But Peter couldn’t get the past out of his mind. He was stuck remembering how he failed Jesus. So, when Jesus showed himself again to his disciples, he found Peter fishing. You see, Peter regressed; he went back to fishing instead of going out preaching the gospel. Since he would not forgive himself for what he did, he went back to what he used to do.
Am I talking to you today? Are you stuck in your past? You may be a person who has not forgiven yourself for what you did, said, or even felt. Yes, you look normal on the outside but inside you are hurting. You see, hanging on to your past will cause you pain. But in the name of Jesus, cut your past loose now. Just let go and let God. You are a new creation in Christ Jesus. You have been forgiven.
Then the next step is to stop feeling sorry for yourself. You see, God is ready to move you up higher now. He has a fresh anointing for you (see Ps. 92). So forget your past, the victory is in your future.
Scripture References: John 18:25-27; 21:3-17; Jeremiah 29:11
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Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).