Don't Look Back! -- Part 2
Happy New Year, Mothers of Nations! Here we are stepping into a fresh new year full of potential and destiny for the cause of Jesus Christ. If you have not already done so, please go back and read last week’s blog entry because today is a continuation of those thoughts and insights regarding our topic “Don’t Look Back!”
To move forward in our destinies, we cannot look back at the past and view it as better.
As an example, the Israelites started thinking that slavery was better than the wilderness where they were free! Look at the following verses from Numbers 11.
Numbers 11: 4-9 (AMP)
4 The rabble among them [who followed Israel from Egypt] had greedy desires [for familiar and delicious food], and the Israelites wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? 5 We remember the fish we ate freely and without cost in Egypt, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. 6 But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing at all [in the way of food] to be seen but this manna.” 7 The manna was like coriander seed, and it looked like bdellium. 8 The people went about and gathered it, and ground it in mills or beat it in mortars, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes with it; and it tasted like cakes baked with fresh [olive] oil. 9 When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna fell with it.
Let’s be honest, shall we? Sometimes our thoughts and desires can get stuck in “the good old days.” I know I have said fondly more than once, “I remember when . . . .” But Ecclesiastes 7: 10 reminds us of this: “Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.”
Even Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Mothers of Nations, she is a strong example of someone who got “stuck” in the past! I think her example is one that most certainly exhorts us to forward and move on. Let’s review what happened to her when she “looked back” with the following verses.
Genesis 19: 23-26
23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained down brimstone (flaming sulfur) and fire on Sodom and on Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven, 25 and He overthrew (demolished, ended) those cities, and the entire valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife, from behind him, [foolishly, longingly] looked [back toward Sodom in an act of disobedience], and she became a pillar of salt.
Luke 17: 31-33
31 On that day, whoever is on the housetop, with his belongings in the house, must not come down [and go inside] to take them out; and likewise whoever is in the field must not turn back. 32 Remember [what happened to] Lot’s wife [when she looked back]! 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will [eventually] lose it [through death], and whoever loses his life [in this world] will keep it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God].
I also believe that we should not look back at old conflicts. They have great potential to make us bitter, not better. There is always a temptation to rehearse old memories, rehashing problems and justifying our choices. But rehearsing the past only brings back all the emotions, old wounds, offenses, and pain.
Philippians 3: 13-14
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Mothers of Nations, we should never want to be prisoners of our past. Forgive. Forget. Forge ahead.
And one final thought before we move forward into this new year of opportunity and blessing. Let’s not look back and settle for where we are at this moment in time. Rather, let’s press on until we finish our race!
There are so many opportunities in life where we can choose to settle and get comfortable. Comfort is nice and we need those times of rest. But as Mothers of Nations we need to keep moving forward. Let’s embrace the next season of our lives and enjoy the challenges as well as the changes!
In closing, my Scripture for you in 2024 is Proverbs 4: 25-27 from the Passion Bible translation. Let me share that with you now.
25 Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead, ignore life’s distractions. 26 Watch where you’re going! Stick to the path of truth, and the road will be safe and smooth before you. 27 Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked for even a moment or take the detour that leads to darkness.
Have a blessed 2024 and enjoy every day as you look forward to all that the Lord has in store for you!
Dr. Sharon Predovich
