Determine Your Future

Don't Let Your Past Stop Your Future

The start of the NFL Training Camp is just around the corner. (Go Panthers!!!) As fans make their picks for the season, there is a debate brewing surrounding the fate of former Atlanta Falcon superstar Michael Vick.



As a result of his dog fighting conviction, there are some who say he should not be allowed to play football again. There are others who say that he should be suspended for several games before being reinstated. There are still others who believe that he has already paid his debt to society and he needs to be reinstated immediately. I do not desire to engage in the debate with this blog. Instead, I would like to focus on the life lesson to be learned.




Without question, Michael Vick messed up. But if the truth be told, we all have messed up at some point in our lives. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) But the issue is what you do once you have messed up.




You see, now that he has been released from prison, Michael Vick faces a pivotal point in his life. He has to choose how he is going to respond to the repercussions of his past. He can choose to be angry and bitter. He can choose to wallow in self pity. He can try to escape the reality of the situation via drugs, alcohol and women. But these things will not do him any good. The past and the repercussions of the choices that he made will still be there.




Simon Peter faced a similar issue in his life. On the night in which Jesus was arrested, Peter vehemently denied that he was a follower of Christ on three separate occasions. (Matthew 26:69-75) Peter messed up. He denied his allegiance to the One he had earlier proclaimed he would die for. (Matthew 26:31-35) But that is the not the end of the story?




For it is the way in which Peter responds that makes him one of my favorite biblical characters. Once he is restored by Christ, Peter resumes his position as the leader and spokesman of the disciples. On the day of Pentecost, it is Peter who stands up and tells the bewildered crowd that the disciples are not drunk with wine but filled with the Spirit! (Acts 2) It is Peter who proclaims the glorious message of Jesus Christ and 3000 are saved!! (Acts 2:41) But most importantly, it is Peter who stands up and faces his past!!! Instead of denying Christ this time, he takes a bold stand for the Lord. He does not allow his past to dictate his present and his future!!! He does not allow feelings of fear and apprehension caused by the past to dictate his action!!! He does not allow what others might think about him because of his past to stop him!!! He stands up and makes a bold proclamation for the Lord!!!




Michael Vick, you and I have the same choice to make. We all have made some bad choices at some point in our lives. However, we cannot allow our past actions to dictate our future. We must get up, dust ourselves off and get back in the race. Donnie McClurkin said that “we fall down but we get up, for a saint is just a sinner who fell down but got up”. Paul said “forgetting those things which are behind and looking forward to those things which are ahead, I press towards the mark of the prize of the high calling of God which is in Christ Jesus”. (Philippians 3:14-15)




It is the way in which we respond to our inevitable sins that will determine our usefulness for the Kingdom of God. (See David in Psalms 51) It is the way in which we get up when he have been knocked down that will determine our level of success in life. It is the way in which we handle life’s inevitable trials and tribulations that will determine the level of peace and joy we will have in our lives.


So on this week, I challenge you to take a stand. We cannot allow our past mistakes to enslave us. We cannot allow our past mistakes to stop us from reaching our destiny. We cannot allow our past mistakes to hinder God’s ability to use us. We cannot run from our past mistakes. We cannot allow people to use them as a weapon against us. We cannot use them as a weapon against ourselves. Instead, we must learn from them and be prepared to wisely handle the situation the next time it arises. For as you already know, it will arise again in some shape, form or fashion. The question is “how will you handle it”. Will you be ready?



By Herb Wallace