Forgive, Grow And Find God's Path for YouSample

Leave the Old Life Behind

The Bible is full of examples of God asking people to “leave behind” the people and lives that were not good for them. He asked the Israelites to leave Egypt to have a better life, but many of them kept looking back, holding on to what they thought was better (see Exodus 16:1 – 3). When Lot and his wife and their daughters left Sodom, the warning was to not look back, yet Lot’s wife did, and she turned to salt (see Genesis 19:26). Jesus told us to remember her mistake (see Luke 17:32).

The basic rule in Biblical personal growth is that the life we lived before we met God is not worth holding on to; we must lose it, grieve it and let go so that he can give us good things. Sometimes our old lives and even some old friends must be mourned and let go so that our hearts can be opened to the new things that God wants for us. The lesson is this: “Follow God and be willing to let go of what he asks to let go of.”