Deuteronomy 4:21
“Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance:”
It is very annoying and tiring to be around someone who can’t seem to let go of the blame of others. For whatever reason, they seem to be blinded by the fact that they have done something wrong. If these people are going to do something greater in life, then they must learn to let it go.
Moses seemed to hold bitterness in his heart about losing the ability to go into the Promised Land. Three times in the Book of Deuteronomy Moses said, “…the LORD was angry with me for your sakes…” It truly becomes tiring to hear Moses blame the people for his failure to obey God. As great of a man as he was, this is one glaring failure in his life that may have kept him from seeing God’s mercy that may have allowed him to go into the Promised Land. We will never know if God would have allowed him to go into the Promised Land had he accepted the blame of his failure, but I will say that God was merciful to many others in the Scriptures who had greater failures than Moses. Moses’ greatest mistake was that he never let the bitterness in his heart go. He let it fester, and it followed him to the grave.
There will be times in your life when others have contributed to your failures. These failures are always hard to accept when you know that if they were not around you probably would not have had the great failure. It is important in these times to learn to let it go so you can move on. Let me give you some thoughts on how to handle these situations in your life.
First, accept the responsibility of your part in the failure. One thing is very evident about Moses, he never accepted the responsibility of his part in his failure. Though others may have contributed to your failure, you are ultimately responsible for your own actions. Nobody makes you do wrong. When you won’t accept your part of the failure, you open your heart to bitterness. The only one you are hurting the most is yourself. Instead of blaming others for what they did to contribute to your failure, accept your role in the failure.
Second, place your energies on the positive and not on the negative. Moses’ energies became negative, and negative energies produce wasted results. Instead of focusing on the negative of others contribution to your failures, look at the potential God has given you to help others. Yes, you have failed, but your failure has given you the experience to train others to avoid the same failures. You will never be able to do this if you don’t let it go.
Third, focus your strength on training others to take your place. Moses was not going to live forever, and that is why he needed to focus on training Joshua. You are one day going to Heaven. Instead of being bitter about what you could not do, use that energy to train others who will fill your place when you are gone. There is another generation who follows you, and you will not be able to train them if you are blaming others for your failures.
It’s time to let your failures go and move on. Don’t waste the potential that you still have. Use the time you have left to invest in the lives of others and help them do what you could not do.