Letting Go Of The Past

Step into the future God has for you

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past” (Isaiah 43:18 NIV).

We’ve all been there—lugging the weight of old regrets, words we wish we could take back, people who’ve hurt us, and seasons we wish had gone differently. It’s like carrying a heavy suitcase through an airport with a broken wheel—frustrating, exhausting, slowing you down, and perhaps even stopping you from getting where you’re meant to go.

But God never asked us to drag our past into our future.

In fact, His Word gives us steps not just to cope, but to let go and move forward with freedom and faith. But it can be harder than we realise to do this.

For me, letting go didn’t mean pretending it didn’t hurt. It meant choosing not to let it control me or my identity anymore.

I remember when someone I trusted deeply betrayed me. I said I forgave them, but I kept replaying the moment in my head. It was like dragging a heavy suitcase through life. I realised I hadn’t let it go—I’d just packed it differently.

One day in prayer, I pictured laying it all at the cross—not just dropping it but unpacking it piece by piece. It changed everything. I learned not to just rearrange the pain of betrayal and rejection.

Holding onto the past caused me to miss the beauty of today. Letting go didn’t mean forgetting—it meant choosing now over then.

I went through months of resentment and comparison. One morning, I sat on my porch, coffee in hand, and simply wrote three things I was thankful for. This became my daily healing ritual. Over time, I found joy again—not because the past changed, but because my focus did. Gratitude became my gateway to joy.

Maybe you, like me, have been dragging a suitcase filled with shame, pain, or anger, and today, God is saying: Lay it down. Don’t just try to pack it in a new way, but empty it and get rid of the suitcase.

Recently, I gave a talk on ‘ Letting go of the Past’ at a women’s retreat. One young woman came to me afterwards and told me that God had given her a picture. She saw herself putting her pain in a beautiful alligator purse—a prized possession. He showed her that while she dressed up the case she was carrying her pain in, the contents were still the same, and He wanted her to let it go and be free. I told her that she could stop carrying what God had already carried to the cross for her. That night, she said she was finally able to let that ‘alligator purse’ go, and she felt so much lighter!

Let this be the day you walk lighter. Let this be the day you begin again. Let this be the day you begin to let go and move forward.

Father, we lay it all down—the hurt, the shame, the things we can’t fix, and the people we couldn’t change. We give You every heavy thing. Teach us to walk free. Heal our hearts, and help us live today with hope for tomorrow. In Jesus’ name, amen.