Be the Underdogs #3 – Your Past isn't as Powerful as you Thought. (The Underdogs Leadership Series)
The 2nd chapter of the God of the Underdogs book unpacks the story of the Apostle Paul who wrote 2/3rds of the New Testament of the Bible. Paul’s excuse that he had to overcome was that “His past was too bad for him to be who God wanted him to be.”
So many leaders struggle to reconcile this excuse. After all, we all have a past. For some, our past is like Paul, bad experiences, negative circumstances and regrets. For others however, our past is sprinkled with success. Both can be stumbling blocks to our future success if we’re not careful. There are 3 things we, as leaders, must know about our past:
1. Your past is a part of you.
We must start with reality. Our past happened. For better or worse, it happened. And nothing we can do now can change that. Denying, trying to cover up or minimizing our past never leads us where we want to go. Which leaves only one option. Own it. As a leader, we must be mature enough to own our past mistakes, successes and decisions.
2. Your past isn’t all of you.
One of the great temptations our past tries to convince us of is that who we were in the past is who we will always be. In other words, our past is the ultimate definer of our life and nothing we do will ever change that. That’s a lie. No matter how long we’ve lived or how many mistakes we’ve made in the past, we still have a chance to right the ship and change who we are in the present and the future. Allowing past regret to define us will destroy us.
3. Your past, when submitted, has power within in.
The sweet spot of our success (like we talk about in chapter 2 of the God of the Underdogs book) is found when we submit our past to God and allow Him to leverage it for our future. A past submitted has the power to change the future. Walk in that today. Whether your past is good, bad, ugly or a little of all three, the key is to surrender your past to God and allow Him to choose the parts He wants to use to make a difference in someone else’s life.
You are not your past, but God wants to use it for other’s good and His glory.
Lead from that reality today, Underdog!