I misunderstood a person. I condemned someone because I believed a lie. I botched a good relationship. I judged motives and removed relationships. I made rash decisions along the way.
Sometimes, I am sad when I look back. Are you?
There is a horrible thing that happens when people look back. Remember the story of Lot…
God was going to utterly destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness…
“At dawn the next day, the angels hurried Lot and his family out of Sodom so they would not be destroyed with the city. When Lot hesitated, “the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, ‘Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!’” (Genesis 19:15–17).
As the family fled, “the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens” (Genesis 19:24). But, then, in disobedience to the angel’s command, “…Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt” (verse 26).
Looking back destroys us.
Jesus, later, instructed the disciples, “Remember Lot’s wife!” (Luke 17:32).
Looking back hinders going forward.
Looking back is like trying to continually run through a high-voltage fence; you think you can bust through to fix what was, but you get jolted, every time by the agony of everything you cannot change.
How can you stay with God in the present moment when you run back to — what was, what should have been, and what you/they didn’t do right? How can you be at peace when you keep looking at what mistakes happened there? How can you walk in hope when the past keeps convicting you? Or, because of it you blame and convict God?
Don’t look back.
Looking back makes us callous; focusing on God makes us soft.
Looking back breeds negativity; looking ahead with hope builds expectancy.
Looking back decreases hope, joy, and life; staying with God builds relationship.
Where have you been living? Your mind cannot live in two places at once.
God does have good for you in the land in which you are living. No season lasts for a lifetime. No rains continue forever. Rest assured, the new land you are going to may be different, but God will be there.
You don’t have to look back because, with God, your future is bright.
Prayer: Father, thank you that you love me, you have good for me, and you are leading me by your Holy Spirit. Give me the grace right now not to look back. I don’t want to be discouraged, downcast, or defeated anymore. Help me to stay with you. Thank you that I am receiving and believing right now the new grace to do a new thing. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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