Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 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, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14 NKJV

In this passage, Paul encourages the church to look to what is ahead – focus on what God wants for your future. Forget what has held you back in your past because God plans to give you hope and a future. He has designed you for great things, and nothing in your past can withhold you from Him!

The devil also has plans for you. John 10:10 tells us that he comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. His plans will attack your finances, health, marriage, family, and your hope. He can find his way into your life using fear, doubt, or hopelessness, but the Bible says that when you resist him he must flee from you. When he is attacking your life, you can fight back! The victory over the devil was already won in Jesus’s death and resurrection.

The devil’s greatest fear is that you will find out who you are in Christ. When you know the power that you have in Christ, God can use you to establish victory over the devil! Your past cannot hold you back from God’s plans. Even though Jacob deceived his father and stole from his brother, God used him to establish His people. Even though Peter denied Jesus three times, God used him to establish the church. Even if the devil has your past, God still wants your future.