As human beings, we tend to live our lives in stories. We have the past, the present, and the future. While the past can be full of great memories, it can also be full of regret, pain, and betrayal.
It’s not always our fault when these things happen, but they can impact our present and future. Do you have a painful past or something you keep holding on to even though it hurts? Maybe an event where you were deeply wounded and moving on seems difficult?
Yes, sometimes leaving the past behind can be difficult, but it is necessary so we do not waste our present and future as well. This does not mean forgetting everything that has happened, but it means choosing to let go of some old things in order to reach out for the new and possible.
That’s what the following 31 Bible verses about leaving the past suggest too.
What Does the Bible Say about Leaving the Past
1. Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV):
“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.”
2. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV):
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
3. Isaiah 43:18-19 (NKJV):
“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.”
4. 1 John 1:9 (NKJV):
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
5. Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV):
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
6. Colossians 3:9-10 (NKJV):
“Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,”
7. Ephesians 4:22-24 (NKJV):
“That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
8. Romans 8:1 (NKJV):
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
9. Luke 9:62 (NKJV):
“But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’”
10. Joel 2:25 (NKJV):
“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent along you.”
11. Isaiah 65:17 (NKJV):
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.”
12. Psalms 103:12 (NKJV):
“As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
13. Genesis 19:26 (NKJV):
“But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
14. Romans 12:2 (NKJV):
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
15. Hebrews 8:12 (NKJV):
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
16. Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV):
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.”
17. Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NKJV):
“Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.”
18. Proverbs 4:25 (NKJV):
“Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.”
19. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV):
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
20. Acts 3:19 (NKJV): “
Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,”
21. Micah 7:19 (NKJV):
“He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.”
22. Isaiah 54:4 (NKJV):
“Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth, And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.”
23. Proverbs 4:18 (NKJV):
“But the path of the just is like the shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.”
24. Job 11:16 (NKJV):
“Because you would forget your misery,
And remember it as waters that have passed away,”
25. Genesis 41:51 (NKJV):
“Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.”
26. Luke 17:4-5 (NKJV):
“And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
27. 1 Peter 5:10 (NKJV):
“But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”
28. Isaiah 61:7 (NKJV):
“Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.”
29. Zechariah 9:12 (NKJV):
“Return to the stronghold,
You prisoners of hope.
Even today I declare
That I will restore double to you.”
30. Ruth 1:16 (NKJV):
“But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.”
31. 1 Corinthians 6:11 (NKJV): “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Glorify God in Body and Spirit”
Topping Off: 31 Bible Verses on Leaving the Past
No matter where we are coming from, there is always a path forward. As long as we have life, there is no course we cannot correct if we learn to move on from past misfortunes.
God’s Word assures us that repentance, forgiveness, and meditating on His promises enable us to leave the past behind and embrace His will for our lives. So be willing to move on and actually move on.
