Because Past has Passed: How to Move On From Your Frustrations

There are things in life that are unpredictable no matter how we try to carefully chart our course. As much as possible we want the best out of everything – and a fail-safe life is one of the best things we want to achieve. Yet no matter how well we guard ourselves from pain and frustrations, we are not exempted from heartaches. Contrary to a popularized commercial tagline, there is no such thing as “no-tears formula”. 

Ok, so heartaches are bound to happen. How do we move on from when we fail and fall? How do we respond to emotional assaults of our failures from the past? Here are some biblical tips we can take into mind as we move on.

1. Leave the bitterness behind.

We can never choose our circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to these circumstances. When life hits us hard and knock us down, we can always choose to be better rather than be bitter.

This is easier said than done. When your boyfriend leaves you for a “much better” girl, or when your employer drops your promotion for a “much better” newbie, no one can blame us for feeling bitter. Yet it is common knowledge that bitterness can never bring us nowhere but away from maturity.

“Throw off everything that hinders”, the Bible tells us. What hinders us from making a huge stride in our spiritual journey is our emotional baggage and the sin of unforgiveness and unless we take these off from ourselves, our journey will be slower than what is supposed to be.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us – Hebrews 12:1

Again, it is hard to unlearn things especially when the memories you’ve been wanting to get rid off has been a part of you for a significant amount of time. What’s worse, no matter how hard we try to forget, certain things such as scents, dates and places reminds us of our painful past. But to leave the bitterness behind is to accept that you can never change what was already chronicled in the past. Admit your mistakes and learn your lessons, instructing yourself not to commit the same mistakes again. Finally, remind yourself that God is always bigger than your hearts.

If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. – 1 John 3:20

2. Look ahead

The problem with those who dwell in the past is that they fail to see the beauty of the future because they keep on looking behind. When you refrain from looking forward, you will eventually bump into a major blockage or worse, meet an unfortunate event.

Look on the brighter side of everything and you will realize how things can really turn out from bad to good. Maybe you are not yet ready for marriage that’s why your engagement’s been called off. Or maybe you are being spared from tons of responsibilities that will keep you away from your family that’s why you didn’t get your desired job placement. When in pain, try to see the beauty why it has to happen. It’s not easy, it will not always give you a shift of emotion in an instant, but at least you’ll have an objective view of the situation.

It is hard to be objective when all you see and feel are the pangs of frustration and heart brokenness. Feel free to express your emotions, but look at the bright side of life. Look ahead and reward yourself with motivating goals to pursue. We will never run out of things to be thankful for, and who knows, perhaps your pain today will be a source of inspiration and praise tomorrow?

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus – Philippians 3:14

So fix your eyes on Jesus and towards His purposes for your life. A moment wasted dwelling on the past is a moment wasted enjoying the blessings of the Lord.

3. Live in faith

When the stigma of the past keeps on haunting us, we tend to just stay away from situations that might expose us again to failure and eventual downfall. Indeed, we need not to commit the same mistakes we’ve done in the past and we must be more careful in our decisions. However, shying away from risks and doing nothing is an act of faithlessness.

As we move on from our painful past, we must come out stronger and wiser. We will eventually face situations when we must choose between two forks on the road. Take risks, calculated risks it is, and commit your decisions to God. Involve Him in your decision-making and make Him a part of your analyses. This is faith in action – that you are willing to go places, work out things and commit to changes no matter what’s the cost and possible outcome, even a painful outcome – and still come out victorious because you know you got the Lord at your side.

We might never know what lies ahead, what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future. Faith is allowing the hands of God work out things in your life even though you do not know how He’s doing it.

For we live by faith, not by sight. – 2 Corinthians 5:7

As you are reading this, maybe you got something in your past that keeps on tugging you and reminds you of something you don’t want to remember anymore. My prayer is that as you go through the process of moving on, you’ll get the most out of it and come out full of hope and joy in the Lord. God bless you!

There are things in life that are unpredictable no matter how we try to carefully chart our course. As much as possible we want the best out of everything – and a fail-safe life is one of the best things we want to achieve. Yet no matter how well we guard ourselves from pain and frustrations, we are not exempted from heartaches. Contrary to a popularized commercial tagline, there is no such thing as “no-tears formula”.