Letting Go Of Your Painful Past Series

Neil Armstrong was the first man to set his foot on the moon, but long before that momentous

event he was a dreamer. As early as age 2 he fell in love with airplanes, and for the rest of his life

that was a focus for him. He made model planes as a child, and at age 14 he got a job at a small

airport. He worked 22 hours to earn the 9 dollars he needed for one flying lesson. One day a 20

year old friend, who was also taking lessons, crashed in a field and Neil ran to help him out of the

cockpit. He died in Neil's arms.

This was a challenge to the dream of his life. That night his mother came into his room and

saw Neil with an old Sunday School notebook with a picture of Jesus on the cover. It was next to

his model airplane. "What have you decided about flying?" she asked. He said, "With God's help

I must go on flying." He went on to fulfill his dream even beyond his expectations. But he had to

get beyond this painful experience to fulfill his dream.

There are no end to the painful experiences that become obstacles to the fulfilling of our

dreams. Millions know the story of Joni Eareckson Toda, who as a teenager broke her neck in a

diving accident. She became paralyzed and felt her life was over. Had she been able to do so she

would have taken her own life. Her dreams were over, and she was forced to live a nightmare.

But as you know, she has had a world wide ministry to the handicapped and to all of us by movies,

books, songs, radio, and by art. She is one of the most creative people on the planet even though

severely handicapped. She had to let go of a terribly painful past in order to be used of God, but

she did it, and she proclaims to the handicapped of the world, "God's grace can overflow from a

half-broken cup."

Some are broken in body, but others are broken in their spirit, and the cause for it is more

directly related to their sinful behavior. This was the case with the Prodigal Son and his older

brother. We don't think of the older brother as prodigal, because the word so clearly describes the

younger brother who went off and wasted his fortune in riotous living. The extravagant wasteful

use of resources is what a prodigal does. The older brother did the same thing in a different way.

He wasted his fortune by not using it and enjoying it. He wasted his resources more like the miser,

but the fact is, both boys blew it and created a painful past they had to let go of, or they would be

enslaved to it.

The younger son created his painful past by rebellion, and the older son by resentment. These

two barriers hold back millions of people from fulfilling God's dream for their life. But there is a

third person in the story also with a painful past to overcome and that is the father. He had two

boys who turned his hair gray prematurely. We don't know where his wife was, for she is not

mentioned, and so he was likely a widower who had to raise these boys on his own. In the parable

he represents God, and so we can assume he was a good father. He did not abuse his boys and

treat them unfairly. He gave them love and all that adequate wealth could provide. But still they

were both a pain in the neck and all parts lower. Here was a father who had the painful past of

regret for the way his two boys turned out.

This text is very appropriate for looking at barriers that hold us back, for most of the barriers

that create a painful past are like those in the parable. They are family related, and includes such

things as broken families, dysfunctional families, parental abuse, parental conflict, sibling feuds,

rebellion and resentment. There are literally millions in our culture and churches that have a

painful past to overcome because of these factors in their lives. Some will break free and dream

again, but others will be bound by their past. The goal is to be among those who break the barriers

that hold them back and dare to dream again. This is in easy task for those who have a traumatic

experience like the pastor who told this pathetic tale.

His father had been a politician and they lived in a large house and had everything, but no real

family life. As a teen he came home late one night and heard a splash in the swimming pool. He