What's Behind Me Is Not Important

Learning to Let Go, Trust God, and Move Forward

By Pastor Jeff Watson | Kingdom Church Las Vegas

Have you ever watched the 1976 comedy movie The Gumball Rally?

There's a scene in that movie that has always stuck with me.

Raúl Juliá plays Franco Bertollini, an Italian race car driver and Grand Prix champion. As the drivers prepare for an illegal coast-to-coast race, Franco reaches up, tears the rearview mirror off his Ferrari, and throws it away.

Then he looks over at his friend and says:

"And now my friend, the first-a rule of Italian driving. What's-a behind me is not important."

Now, that's a funny scene in a comedy movie, but there's a powerful spiritual truth we can learn from it.

The Apostle Paul said something very similar.

Philippians 3:13 (NKJV)

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,"

Paul understood something that many of us struggle with.

You cannot keep moving forward into what God has for you while constantly looking backward at what someone did to you.

A Lesson God Taught Me in Construction

Years ago, while working in the construction business, I had just finished framing a man's house.

Before the framing was even completed, the homeowner began requesting all kinds of changes and modifications.

Now, anyone who has worked in construction knows that changes mean additional labor, materials, and expenses.

These weren't just a couple of little adjustments. This was an extensive amount of extra work.

When I finished calculating everything, I presented him with a bill for $7,000 in additional work.

He grabbed that bill, threw it on the ground, and told me:

"I'm not going to pay that!"

Now, I had done the work. I had invested the labor and time, and I believed I was owed that money.

So I went to God in prayer.

I said, "Lord, this man has wronged me. Should I take him to court?"

And the Lord brought me back to His Word.

What Does the Word of God Say?

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul addresses disputes among believers.

1 Corinthians 6:7 (NKJV)

"Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?"

Now, that's a difficult scripture to swallow when somebody owes you $7,000!

But that's what God was showing me.

The passage was challenging me to consider something greater than winning an argument or collecting a debt.

It was challenging me to trust God.

So I asked the Lord:

"Are You telling me to let this $7,000 go? To accept being wronged?"

And what I felt the Lord speaking to my heart was:

"Yes. Give it to Me. Focus on the new work that's coming. Concentrate on what's ahead of you, and I'll bless you."

That wasn't necessarily what my flesh wanted to hear.

But I made the decision to obey.

I let the $7,000 go, and I turned my attention toward the work God was putting in front of me.

And do you know what happened?

Within three weeks, I made $21,000!

I could have spent those three weeks angry, frustrated, fighting, and concentrating on the money I believed someone had taken from me.

Instead, I trusted God and moved forward.

God had something greater ahead of me than what I was leaving behind.

Don't Let Yesterday Steal Your Tomorrow

Here's what I've learned.

Some people are still talking about something that happened to them 20 years ago.

Someone offended them.

Someone cheated them.

Someone betrayed their trust.

Someone said something hurtful.

And here they are, years later, still living in that moment.

They're still rehearsing the offense. They're still carrying the anger. They're still waiting for somebody to make it right.

But here's the problem.

Something that happened years ago has now become the very thing controlling their lives today.

The offense may have lasted only a moment, but they've allowed it to occupy years of their lives.

And all that time, God has been calling them forward.

Listen, I'm not saying what happened to you wasn't wrong.

I'm not saying the hurt wasn't real.

I'm saying you don't have to spend the rest of your life living in it.

At some point, you have to give it to God.

You have to let Him be your judge.

You have to trust Him with the things you cannot change.

Because if you don't, something that should have been left in your past can become the defining story of your entire life.

Love Covers a Multitude of Sins

The Bible tells us:

1 Peter 4:8 (NKJV)

"And above all things have fervent love for one another, for 'love will cover a multitude of sins.'"

We need to learn to be quick to forgive.

Not because everybody deserves our forgiveness.

Not because everybody has apologized.

And not because what they did was acceptable.

But because we belong to Christ, and His love is greater than the offenses committed against us.

Forgiveness doesn't mean pretending something never happened.

It means refusing to allow what happened to keep you from walking in what God has prepared for you.

There is freedom in letting go.

There is peace in trusting God.

And there is a future ahead of you that deserves more of your attention than the offenses behind you.

What's Behind Me Is Not Important

I think back to that old movie and Franco ripping the rearview mirror off his Ferrari.

"What's-a behind me is not important!"

Now, I wouldn't recommend doing that to your actual car!

But spiritually, some of us need to quit spending so much time staring into the rearview mirror.

Paul said he was forgetting what was behind and pressing toward what was ahead.

He wasn't saying he had no past. He was saying his past wasn't going to determine his future.

And that's the lesson I want you to take away today.

Don't allow a $7,000 offense to keep you from a $21,000 blessing.

Don't let yesterday's disappointment blind you to tomorrow's opportunity.

Don't allow someone else's actions to determine your future.

Give it to God.

Forgive.

Trust Him.

And move forward.

Because what's behind you doesn't have to control what's ahead of you.

With love and encouragement,

Pastor Jeff Watson
Kingdom Church Las Vegas