WHEN GOD SAVED YOU, DID YOU TURN IN YOUR REAR VIEW MIRROR?

SCRIPTURE:
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? 
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” 
(Isaiah 43:18-19)

MEDITATION:
When we surrender to the Lord, it is the beginning of a new life for us.
Why? Because we turn around and start going in the opposite direction.
We start looking forward, in the direction of our new life.
We cannot give full attention to where we are going 
if we are constantly looking back.

Whenever we look back, we are reminded of our previous life.
This can arouse our sensations to the sins of our past.
When that happens, we start to lose focus on what is ahead.
We would like to think that when we are reminded of the destruction of our 
past, we will be even more motivated to leave it all behind.

But it doesn’t work like that, does it?
Satan hopes we will look back so he can remind us of our previous passions.
Once he has aroused out desires, we find that parts of our past 
will start gaining ground on us as we are trying to leave them behind.
Plain and simple, we will not be fully committed to the Lord 
if we are distracted by the things of the past.

God’s Word gives us a warning about looking back.
When God planned to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah as a result of their 
decadent sinfulness, Lot and his family were given time to escape 
before God rained down fire on the cities.
However, Lot’s wife was curious and looked back 
to see the magnitude of the destruction sin had caused.
She could no longer flee with her husband, 
because God turned her into a pillar of salt.
But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:6)

We also run the risk of no longer moving forward 
whenever we look back to our past.
Not only are our previous passions aroused, but we realize just how unworthy we are 
to receive God’s salvation, and that can discourage us from moving forward.
When we fail to move forward in our new life, 
it causes us to be unavailable for God to use us in His earthly ministry.

Being part of God’s ministry 
doesn’t mean we all become pastors and missionaries.
It means that we are available 
for God to use us in whatever capacity He chooses.
We might be asked to be a listening ear 
for someone who needs to talk about their worries and fears.
It could provide an opportunity to talk to them about the Lord.

We might be asked to be an encourager to someone who is discouraged.
It might open the door for discussing the Lord and salvation.
We have no idea what He may ask of us, but we need to look forward the
possibility and commit to being available when He wants to use us.

ACTION:
Have you been struggling with flashbacks of your past?
We cannot stop some of our previous sins from entering our thoughts, 
but we can escort them right on out of our mind, instead of harboring them 
and reminiscing momentary sinful pleasures of the past.
We can also keep our eyes forward as we focus on the Lord 
and the new life He has given us.
If you are not moving forward in your new life, you are most likely moving
backwards; it is doubtful that you are 
not moving in one direction or the other.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, help me to learn from my mistakes of the past, but not to
dwell on them. At the same time, help me to forget the sins of others 
against me as You forgive my sins against You. Teach me to avoid quarreling 
with those who have injured me in some way. Guide me in the paths You have 
for me as a child of Yours, and help me to keep my eyes looking forward as 
I enjoy Your gift of life to me, and anticipate how You will use me in some 
way to reach others. I realize that I cannot enjoy seeing Your mighty works
if I am looking back at my pre-salvation life.”