Paul wrote the book of Philippians for the church he started in Philippi, where a woman named Lydia opened her home and, along with others, welcomed Paul to the city. 

The Philippian church even helped fund Paul’s missionary journeys. 

In Philippians 1:5, Paul says, “I thank God for the help you gave me” (NCV). Yet Paul told the believers, “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God” (Philippians 1:3 NLT).

What is Paul doing there? He is choosing selective memory. 

Philippi was not a happy place for Paul, and he endured a lot of persecution and suffering during his time in that city. 

But he chose not to dwell on painful memories of his ministry in the city. 

Instead, he expressed his gratitude for the good things that had been done for him and through him.

The longer you serve in a specific ministry assignment, the more likely you are to remember the bad instead of the good.

Are you still clinging to some painful memories with certain people in your ministry? 

Maybe you’ve never let them off the hook, and so you can’t enjoy those relationships because you’re still holding on to the past. Or maybe you can’t minister as effectively as you should because you’re still hanging on to the pain.

You need to understand memories are a choice. 

A friend once reminded Clara Barton, who founded the American Red Cross, of a particularly cruel thing somebody had done to her years before. 

The friend asked, “Don’t you remember?” Her famous reply was, “No, I distinctly remember forgetting it.”

Your memories are a choice. 

If you want to hold on to your painful memories, go right ahead... but you’re not going to be happy and you won’t have a healthy ministry! 

Paul had a lot of reasons to focus on painful memories. 

Instead, he chose to be grateful for the people in his life and the work God was doing in and through them. 

When you do the same, God will bless your ministry far beyond your expectations.