There's a line from a poem that goes, "Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest of these: it might have been."

In a tragically poignant way, this illustrates the sorrow of a life lived chained to the past with the "might-have-beens" and the "if-onlys." The past can't be changed, and yet we find ourselves trying anyway. In this sad process, the enemy blocks us from living in the present and facing the future with the peace that God intends for us.

Tonight, are you wishing you could turn back the hands of time? Are you tired of trying to figure out what you could have done to prevent something that can't really be undone?

When I feel like this I think of Samson, blind and grinding at the mill. He could have said, "I used to be a mighty ruler in Israel. I might still have been a ruler if only I hadn't met Delilah." But Samson didn't say this. Instead, he became my example for living in the present in spite of the past. While his enemy rejoiced that Samson was their prisoner; he decided not to live in the spotlight of his past glories, or in the glare of his past mistakes, but to live for God in the present. He asked His Father for a last anointing of strength, and achieved final victory for God that was greater than any past success. Even though he was blind he pulled the temple down with a mighty surge of power killing more of the enemies of God than he had in all the days of his life.

Samson learned the hard way that the past should only be used as a bridge to the future. Tonight, put aside your yesterdays and live with God in the now of your life.

Dear Father, tonight I give You all my yesterdays with my mistakes and failures, and even my past honors. I ask that You help me to see tomorrow as a brand-new beginning for my life - a beginning that is no longer hindered by my past. Let me see Your hand of guidance on my life for a new good in all I do. In Jesus' Name, Amen.