Facts: Elephants & Grudge-holding

“Elephants never forget.”

According to Scientific American elephants have an uncanny ability to remember faces, smells, and situations, especially mistreatment. “Grudge-holding” helps them survive. 

Philippians 3:13-14 says: 
"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

"Forgetting" is an important part of moving toward God's goals in life.

Paul had things to forget:
1. He'd cheered on the murder of Stephen (Acts 7:54-8:3). 
2. He'd been unjustly flogged and imprisoned (2 Corinthians 11:23-33). 

To fulfill God's purposes, he had to forget these things and move forward.

When it comes to the past, I can sometimes be an 'elephant,' but I'm learning to place injustice and regrets in God's hands. What about you?

Is something in your past tangled around your heart? Will you leave it in God’s hands today and face your future with new hope? 
© copyright Gail Burton Purath, 2011

For an absolutely incredible true story of a man who "forgot the past" read: An Innocent Man Imprisoned for Life. 

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