Remembering to Look Back

29/09/14 08:10 Filed in: Devotions

Today I read Jeremiah 45-47, Psalm 105, & John 21. There are times in life when we need to spend the time looking back. In our fast paced society we are always looking forward. We look to the future and worry about retirement. We look forward the next new toy that is coming out. We look forward to the weekends or to our next vacation. We hope that our future leads us to a legacy where our lives have had one kind of impact. We are so worried about the future that we don’t spend enough time seeing what has already happened in the past and what is happening now in the present. We forget all of the things God has done for us so we worry about what will happen in the future. Remembering the past and learning from it is not something we can afford to forget.

In the Old Testament times, the Israelites where constantly forgetting the things God told them. Rather than trusting God and serving him, they had to create their own idols and look for other sources of security outside of him. They relied on Egypt instead of God. They forgot all the incredible things God did for them and ended up doing what was evil in God’s sight. God was constantly sending prophets to remind the people to remember but they refused to do so, instead looking to a future that they hoped they could control. So God took away all of their security, causing Egypt to fall and then their own world and security to crumble around them to the point where they were captives in a foreign land.

Peter and the disciples also forgot the call Jesus had put on their lives. Instead of going out and spreading the gospel, they chose to go back to fishing. Jesus appeared to them on the seashore and asked Peter three times if he loved him. Three times he told him to feed his sheep. Jesus was reminding Peter of the call he had placed on his life.

I think about how little I spend in reflecting. I do reflect in these journals and at times when things are going a little crazy, but I know I need to do it more often. Reflecting grounds you in the reality of what you are experiencing now. It lets you know if you have been on this road you are on now and reminds you of how to navigate it so you don’t go off into a ditch. Looking back shows you how far you have come when all you can see is how far you need to go. It shows you a track record of how God has shown up in your life and becomes the antidote to worry and anxiety. Looking back is a vital part of keeping our memory of events fresh and keeps us going in the right direction.

Lord, thank you for the way you have guided me in my life. I look back and see your hand on my life every step of the way. I know I forget often and end up retracing steps I have already had. Please continue to bring me back to yourself and give me the memory I need to look back, reflect, and focus on where I am going based on what I know from the past. Amen.

Tags: Worry, Reflection, John

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