Putting on the Armor of God: How to Win Your Battles with Satan

by Steven A. Cramer

Many valiant warriors have been defeated on the battleground of memory. One of the devil’s favorite weapons could be symbolized by a rear-view mirror. Though necessary for any driver wanting to stay aware of traffic behind his moving car, the rear-view mirror would be disastrous if most of that driver’s attention was focused there. Satan works hard to keep us looking in our spiritual rear-view mirrors, looking back at our past mistakes so he can destroy our confidence in the future. I doubt if anyone endures more misery and unnecessary suffering than the person who won’t take his attention off the past, who insists on going through life with that mental rear-view mirror stuck in front of his eyes, always looking back, always digging up the mistakes of the past, continually criticizing and condemning himself for his failures. Surely this does not please the Lord. Elder Marvin J. Ashton said, “Where you’ve been is not nearly as important as where you are and where you’re going” (This People, March 1984, 27). The past can never hurt us once we decide to let it go and allow it to truly be the past.