Let Go or Be Dragged: Step Into 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Forget the past; press toward God's prize.

Paul's words call you to release yesterday's grip so you can chase what God is calling you toward. Admit that you haven't arrived, but focus on one thing: forgetting the past and pressing on toward what lies ahead. This requires an intentional decision to refocus daily on the race God has set before you and the heavenly prize He promises. [13:13]

Philippians 3:13-14 (New Living Translation)
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race

Sermon Summary

December is here—the month to reflect, realign, and reset. I called us to gratitude that matures into praise, not just for what God has done, but for what He is doing and will do. The Spirit pressed a simple, piercing proverb on my heart: let go or be dragged. We cannot step into what’s next while being pulled by what was—whether that was 2025 pain, 2010 disappointments, or patterns from the 90s. Philippians 3:13–14 gives a clear blueprint: forget what is behind, look forward to what lies ahead, and press toward the prize. Reflection keeps us grounded; preparation keeps us ready. Both are needed to walk into the next season with clarity and expectation.

We named the truth that not everything we carry is sin—some things are just heavy. Hebrews 12 teaches us to lay aside every weight: the overthinking, the people-pleasing, the emotional clutter, the responsibilities God never assigned. Some weights aren’t attacks; they’re attachments. Before anything shifts, we must identify the weight, surrender it, and then set new boundaries. Obedience to God may offend those who benefited from our bondage, but peace requires protection.

We also learned how to re-focus. You don’t break free by staring at what broke you; you break free by fixing your eyes on Jesus. Where your focus goes, your future grows. Isaiah 43 promises a new thing—rivers in the desert, roads in the wilderness. You can’t behold the new while clutching the old. Letting go clears your vision, makes room for what’s next, and positions you for something better than what was. This is the year to drop the anchors—grief, shame, fear, bitterness—so we can walk into 2026 with a different posture and a different strength: joy instead of depression, faith instead of fear, healing instead of heartbreak, grace instead of shame.

At the altar we cast our cares because He cares. Jesus let go of heaven and the throne, took up the cross, and rose with all power so we could let go of sin, shame, and bondage. The dragging ends today. Lift your hands, open your heart, and say with faith: I’m letting it go so I can see, run, and enter what God has prepared.

Key Takeaways

1. Let go or be dragged Release what God has already retired, or it will pull you into cycles you were never meant to repeat. Refusing to release doesn’t preserve you; it imprisons you. Freedom is not accidental—it’s a decision made in obedience. Choose release so destiny doesn’t arrive to find your hands full. [09:38]
2. Progress requires focused priority Paul’s “one thing” is our pattern: forget what’s behind and fix your gaze forward. A scattered heart cannot run a straight race. Many of us aren’t stuck because of closed doors but because our hands are full. Prioritize the prize, not the past. [13:32]
3. Lay aside every hidden weight Not all burdens are sinful—some are simply heavy and slowly crushing your pace. Overthinking, people-pleasing, and emotional clutter feel noble but drain the strength needed for obedience. Identify the weight, surrender it, and watch your endurance return. The race is won lighter, not louder. [24:13]
4. Boundaries protect obedience and peace Letting go includes saying no—no to rooms God told you to exit and calls He told you to block. Obedience will offend those who thrived on your availability, but peace is worth the misunderstanding. Set restrictions that match your assignment, not your guilt. [27:47]
5. Fix your eyes on Jesus We do not heal by analyzing wounds but by attending to the Healer. Attention is spiritual gravity—where you gaze, you go. As Christ grows larger in your view, your past grows weaker in its pull. Look to Him, and your hands will loosen their grip on yesterday. [29:54]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[05:40] - Opening praise and prayer
[07:18] - December: reflect, realign, reset
[09:38] - Proverb: Let go or be dragged
[12:43] - Philippians 3:13–14 read
[13:55] - Progress requires priority
[19:58] - Point 1: Let go of what was
[23:50] - Point 2: Let go of what weighs you down
[27:47] - Set new boundaries
[29:54] - Fix your eyes on Jesus
[30:26] - Point 3: Let go to see what’s next
[33:24] - Rivers in the desert promise
[35:25] - Declarations: the dragging ends today
[41:22] - Altar call and corporate prayer
[49:19] - Communion preparation and worship

Bible Study Guide

Bible Study Guide — “Let Go or Be Dragged”

Bible reading (KJV)
- Philippians 3:13–14 (KJV)
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Observation questions

What three actions does Paul describe in Philippians 3:13–14, and how do they link together as a single discipline for moving forward? [12:43]
Which Old and New Testament examples were given to illustrate the danger of looking back or holding on (Lot’s wife, Pharaoh, Judas), and what common consequence did each example show? [16:05]
Hebrews 12 speaks of laying aside “every weight.” How does the guide distinguish “weight” from “sin,” and what kinds of weights were named as examples? [24:13]
Isaiah 43 uses images like “rivers in the desert” and “a way in the wilderness.” What do those images promise about God’s new work, and why can’t someone behold that new work while clutching the old? [31:07]

Interpretation questions (third-person objective)

How should a believer distinguish between remembering lessons from the past (which can be useful) and being tethered by past events so that progress is blocked? [12:43]
If “weights” are attachments rather than moral failures, how does identifying a weight change the appropriate spiritual response compared with confessing a sin? [24:13]
In what ways can setting boundaries be an act of obedience that may offend those who benefited from previous availability, and what principles should guide how boundaries are set? [27:47]
What disciplines or practices would most directly help a person “fix their eyes on Jesus” so that the past’s pull weakens and the capacity to press forward increases? [29:54]

Application questions (personal, practical)

Identify one specific “weight” you have been carrying (for example: overthinking, people-pleasing, grief, shame). How long have you carried it, and what is one concrete step you will take this week to surrender that weight? [24:13]
Name one memory, relationship, or pattern that still pulls you backward. What is one practical change you can make now to “forget” it in the sense Paul describes (remove a trigger, change a routine, stop a conversation)? [12:43]
What boundary do you need to set to protect your peace and obedience in the coming season? Who will you tell about it and how will you enforce it when pressure comes? Be specific. [27:47]
Pick one spiritual habit to build this month that will help you keep your gaze on Jesus (for example: daily Scripture at a set time, short worship playlist for moments of temptation, a weekly accountability check). Describe the habit and when you will start. [29:54]
Looking toward next year, what will you intentionally remove from your schedule, devices, or relationships to “make room” for what God may give next? Give one concrete thing to stop and one thing to start. [33:05]
Are there things you tend to “pick up” again after laying them down (shame, bitterness, old conversations)? What specific guardrails will you put in place so you do not pick them up again (an accountability partner, a written declaration, a practical removal of a trigger)? [42:05]
Write and speak aloud a one- or two-sentence declaration you will use when tempted to return to old baggage (for example: “I let go of shame; I will not pick it up again.”). Be prepared to share that short declaration with the group. [35:25]

Use the reading and these questions to pray, confess what needs to be released, and make a short, concrete plan to move into the next season lighter and more focused.

Sermon Clips

Because if you don't let go, ladies and gentlemen, it will drag you into a year God never intended for you to repeat. Ladies and gentlemen, if you don't let it go, you will walk yourself right back into the bondage you prayed your way out of. It will keep reopening wounds you were meant to heal. It will drag you into battles you were never meant to fight again. [00:12:10] (21 seconds)

``For some of us, we're calling comfort, what we call comfort is actually a cage. What we're calling familiar is actually a foothold of fear. What we're calling loyalty is actually bondage in disguise. And hear me, you cannot walk into God's ordained future while protecting a self-imposed past. You cannot embrace destiny while defending dysfunction. You cannot step into purpose while still babysitting patterns God told you to break. [00:14:25] (37 seconds) #LetGoOrBeDragged

In Exodus, Pharaoh refused to let go of God's people. Eventually, the waters of the Red Sea would take out Pharaoh and his army. Even in the New Testament, Judas refused to let go of greed. Money became his God and then became his grave. And y'all looking at me funny, so let me bring it up to 2025. You were in a relationship you knew you should have let go of. And now you are hurt. You kept excusing the red flags. Kept praying prayers that God already answered. [00:16:09] (29 seconds)

If you do not let it go in obedience, you will lose it in consequence. So I beseech you, my brothers and sisters, I beg of you, release it gently now or watch it leave violently later. And after Paul says, let it go, he then says, I press on. Paul is letting us know that it will take effort, intentionality, maturity, and a decision to move forward. Even when the past is trying to pull you backwards. [00:18:14] (31 seconds)

So in this text, real quick, Paul is showing us three things. You must let go of what's behind you. You must refocus on what's before you. You must recommit to the press that's required of you. Because the past can inform you, but it cannot imprison you. The past can teach you, but it cannot tether you. The past can develop you, but it cannot drag you unless you let it. [00:19:06] (24 seconds)

And that's the tension that many of us facing going into a new year. God is trying to move you forward, but memory keeps pulling you backward. God is trying to open a new chapter, but you keep rereading the old one. God is trying to elevate you, but you're still negotiating with what he told you to walk away from. But hear me, you cannot reclaim what God has released, nor revive what God has retired. [00:19:30] (23 seconds)

You cannot walk into a new year holding hands with an old one. Paul gives us a clear command, forget what's behind, not because it didn't happen, but because it cannot help where God is taking you. Don't miss this. You cannot heal holding on to history. You cannot chase destiny carrying dead weight. You cannot move forward staring at what's behind you. [00:20:37] (25 seconds)

You're trying to build a new future with the tools of a broken past. You're trying to run in 2026 with weights you picked up in 2010, patterns you picked up in 2000, wounds you carried from the 90s. But please hear your pastor. You can't grab what God is giving you if your hands are still full of what hurts you. You can't walk in freedom while still defending your bondage. You can't rise if what's beneath you still has a grip on you. [00:21:50] (33 seconds)

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

What distinguishes sinful burdens from exhausting weights?

Why is focus essential to moving forward?

What happens when we cling to past seasons?