A couple of weeks ago I was leaving band rehearsal and heading home down Cobb parkway. Now, let me tell you, in the two years that I have lived here, I have never known a crazier stretch of road than Cobb Parkway. People seem to think it’s the freeway, driving way over the speed limit, running lights, and I can’t count how many accidents I have seen on that road!
As I pulled onto Cobb, there was a pickup truck behind me that was apparently in a hurry to get somewhere fast, and he stayed right on my rear. He wouldn’t even try to go around but proceeded to tailgate me for a good stretch of my drive! I thought for sure I would be rear-ended.
Being overly cautious and overly concerned, I kept my eyes on him through the rearview mirror while I drove forward. Then (it must’ve been the Holy Spirit) I realized what I was doing. By keeping my eyes on what was behind me, I was risking running into what was in front of me.
That word hit me like a bolt of lightning to my brain.
How many times have I been stuck dwelling on the problems of my past, worried about what calamity they could bring into my future?
By keeping our eyes on the things behind us, we lose focus on the future that is unfolding before us! We lose our ability to see with clarity the things that God is putting in our path for our future.
Stop focusing on what the potential problems from your past can bring into your future!
God is our Redeemer and He doesn’t just redeem our present wrongs, but He redeems our entire history. He literally breaks in and changes the course of our story.
When we stop dwelling on where we’ve been, the things that have injured us, the things that have tripped us up, we can move forward into the future and destiny God is writing for us.
God doesn’t waste our pain. He doesn’t waste our tears. He does in fact (as I tell my kids) use our mistakes to teach us how to do things a better way. His way. But when we continue to dwell on that pain, we continue to slow down our forward progress.
“There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.”
Proverbs 5:3-5
So what are the things that God is asking you to let go of today? What are the labels that have been put on you that you need to let go of? Where are the wounds that you need God to heal?
Release those things to the Lord. Let him gently lift your eyes off of the rearview mirror and into the future that He has for you.
The Bible says that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. If you are in Christ, you have already been covered by the blood of the Lamb. Perhaps it is time to release your testimony and find freedom and healing so that you can walk into your future completely unbound.
God has a plan for you. He has a future before you. Take your eyes off of that rearview mirror and keep your eyes on the prize that lays before you- King Jesus.