Do not dwell on the past. –Isaiah 43:18b (NIV)
Different vehicles come equipped with different bells and whistles, but every vehicle comes with at least one windshield and one rearview mirror. They are similar because both give you a place to look. Yet, one is huge but the other is tiny. Why? The windshield goes across the whole front of the car so the driver can see the road ahead, while the rearview mirror is for the occasional backward look.
Put another way, drivers gaze ahead but glance backward.
Do you live your life that way, or do you have it reversed?
There is much value in knowing our history and where we come from. Some claim the Bible mentions “remember” over seventy times (John 2:22, 16:4, Ps. 119:55).
However, remembering is not the same as “being stuck in the past.”
As someone said, “the past is a great place to learn from, but a terrible place to live.”
In this new year, how open are you to receiving new directions, commands, blessings and lessons from God? Or, is your life so full of clinging to old ways, habits, and regrets, that you have no room for anything novel?
There is great freedom in “Letting Go.”
In Isaiah 43:18-19 (ESV) God says, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
To ancient Israel, the thought of God making new roads or streams in the dry Middle East must have seemed preposterous. But today, do you believe God can do something new in your life, or in the lives of those around you?
Take the next step: Just like a good driver, approach life by taking an occasional glance backward but keep your gaze forward, and live with a sense of expectancy.
S.D.G./S.G.D.