FIDO

“One thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.”

Philippians 3:13 ESV

My father developed an acronym based on this verse. It grew so popular that NFL teams had shirts printed with the letters, and certain MLB leagues put the letters on baseball caps. Some politicians have even quoted it. The letters F-I-D-O stand for “Forget It and Drive On.”

Christians shouldn’t dwell on past troubles or regrets. Rather than beating ourselves up about a situation where we felt embarrassed or getting angry all over again when we remember something someone said or did to us, we need to release it and move on. This allows us to focus on what God wants to do in us and through us today –after all, we are not promised tomorrow.

God never wastes anything we’ve been through. He can use our hurts to shape us and draw us closer to Him. But He also sets a standard we should follow. He continually forgives and forgets. In spite of all the times we as followers of Christ hurt Him and fail, He looks on us and says, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more,” (Hebrews 10:17 ESV).

Had the apostle Paul, a murderer, not chosen to “FIDO” his past, the greatest missionary the world has ever known might have wasted his life by having a pity party instead. When you’re tempted to wallow in what happened yesterday, ask yourself: What might I miss by clinging to what Jesus wants me to forget and leave behind?