January 3 |Manasseh means “to forget”

“… but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,…I press toward the mark…”
(Philippians 3:13, 14).
Manasseh means “to forget”. “For God”, said Joseph, “hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s
house” (Gen. 41:51). As Joseph forgot the past so must we : rather we must look to the future for
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something better (Phil.3:13). We enjoy talking about our past sufferings to get human sympathy. However
to grow spiritually we must forget completely every past suffering of any kind.
Sometimes we look at the past and remember with joy what the Lord did for us so many years ago. We
keep on telling others what happened ten, twelve or fifteen years ago. Sometimes with tears we talk of
those wonderful days, and long to get back to the good old days, at least for a while. Married people look
back to the first few months or years of married life and long to go back to those days not realising how
much greater blessing the Lord has for them in the future. Perhaps God has been extremely good to you,
and you have seen Him working mightily in the past. Do not forget that He has something far greater in
store for you in future. So look forward with eager expectancy for these greater things. Paul says, “I press
forward”. It is only when you press forward for these better things the Lord has to give you, that your faith
is kept alive. Such expectation and faith will keep you near to the heart of God. He will not be satisfied
until He has filled us with His fulness and brought us into perfection. He wants to give us His whole
kingdom which is our full spiritual inheritance. That is why He asks us to press forward. Thinking of the
good old days and maintaining the same attitude that we had seven or eight years ago will hinder our
spiritual progress and fruitfulness.

We all need the experience of “Manasseh.” Whatever happens we must remember that the Lord has
better things for us in the future. He wants us to enjoy fully all that He has planned for us from eternity,
because He says, “all things are yours” (1 Cor. 3:21). However, merely repeating these words is not
sufficient; we have to claim His promise. God says, “Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will
multiply thee” (Heb. 6:14). That is God’s promise and according to it, He will go on multiplying His blessings
to us in abundance for eternity. For this reason we must forget the past, however good it may have been
and expect greater things to happen. We must go on claiming the full share of our heavenly inheritance
in His Kingdom and His Throne.