Looking Back…Forging Ahead

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have difficulty in letting go of the past. In fact, Paul admonishes us in Philippians 3 to forget what lies in the past and to strain forward to what lies ahead so that we might press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus……

And believe me, I’m all for that; but sometimes my lack of faith keeps me frozen in the position I’m in…. neither moving forward nor sliding back….and that’s when I look back in order to forge ahead.

Let me explain….God has been so very, very, VERY GOOD TO ME. Whenever I look back at the twists and turns of my life, it is then that I can see the providential hand of God at work and I know that the God of my past is still in control of the present… and He, alone, knows what lies ahead in my future. It is at that moment I ask myself, “Why do I stand here, frozen in complacency, when my God has called me to serve Him in spite of my circumstances?”

The answer is really quite clear….I’ve forgotten all that God has done for me in the past.

We all travel through the valley of adversity wondering if we will ever come out of the other side; yet, when we place our faith and trust in God…. WE ALWAYS DO…often scarred, broken and even bitter that our travel and travail have been so deep. It is, however, the knowledge that our Father, who loves us with an unwavering love, always has our best interest at the heart of His heart. It is that knowledge and our willingness to act that brings us the comfort and courage to move out ….to shake the shackles that have bound us in fear from doing and becoming all that God has set before us.

So the next time adversity rears its ugly head in your life or things seem to have come to a standstill, I encourage you to do what I do ….look back to the faithfulness of your Heavenly Father and all that He has done for you…. remember the blessings that have been yours; the divine interventions that have kept you safe and secure in this evil and despicable world. You will see as revealed in His Holy Word in Job 12:22, “He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light. ….and as you stand, firmly grounded on the mountaintop and cast a glance to the valley below, you will see all that God has brought you through. Maybe then, you will understand that in each situation, God has made a spiritual deposit in your life upon which you can draw and that your faith account in Him can never be overdrawn.

I don’t know about you, but there are too many things in my past that still plague me; however, I am so thankful that I am leaving these in the rear view mirror as I travel life’s highway with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ….and now, I try to only look back when it will help me forge ahead to gain the prize to be all that God has called me to be…..

I hope you’ll do the same….after all, God’s counting on each of us in the days that lie ahead to be SALT & LIGHT to His world…

Looking forward …straining for the prize,
WPQ