Looking Back

There are times in your life when you just have to take a look back over your life so far. How did I get here? Were there any problems or casualties that I might have avoided? Did I offend someone without knowing at the time, but wish I could change things now?

Be honest now, it's not just old(er) people who look back. I reckon you had a glance over your shoulder when you became a teenager, got engaged, married, had each child, when a loved one passed away, or when you became an official OAP (Big Hint!). It's normal, natural, and it's human. In truth, the older you get, the more there is to look back on with thanks, or maybe regret.

At times of reflection it is important to remember some promises at our disposal as God’s children, because we are not the first or only people to find ourselves in this place, and we will not be the last. That’s for sure. Our past, at any age, is littered with a combination of happy and sad memories, but we have a powerful advocate in the person of Jesus Christ who stands between us and God. Look at it this way. We can (and should) learn from our bad decisions, while also being thankful to God for all those many good memories which far outweigh anything else we have experienced. Take heart from these verses, and remember hindsight is 20/20:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV

No test has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear. But when you are tested, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV

Looking Back

And now we look back on all this and thank God, an artesian well of thanks! When you got the Message of God we preached, you didn’t pass it off as just one more human opinion, but you took it to heart as God’s true word to you, which it is, God himself at work in you believers! 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Msg

Looking back is not always good, and can be dangerous. Take Lot’s wife as a good example of that, she looked back and turned into a pile of salt! But then she did disobey the express command of God. She did not ‘trust and obey’ as the hymn says. Looking back can be contrary to God’s will, but it can also be hurtful as we remember those times we have been a disappointment to others or to ourselves. We could have done things differently, and we know it without somebody else telling us so. No one knows our failings better than ourselves, and reminders are not necessary!

A new year filled with fresh opportunities beckons, and we can either learn from the mistakes and disappointments of our past, or be condemned to repeat them in the coming year. As the old saying goes, “The one thing we learn from history, is that we don’t learn from history”. For my part, it is more than turning over a new leaf, or trying to make a fresh start. It’s that I must put any time ahead in God’s hands, and be content to do His will, without second guessing it in impatience because things don’t happen how or when I think they should.

We have been blessed with the gift of another year to let God use us, lead us and direct our hearts, so let’s resolve to give God the time to work out our future, whatever it is, and for however long He allows. So, Happy New Year!  

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13b, 14 NIV