Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. (Proverbs 4:25, ESV)
I was listening to a Christian podcast, and the pastor said something that really grabbed my attention: “You’ve got a big windshield on the front of your car. And you’ve got a little bitty rearview mirror. The reason the windshield is so large and the rearview mirror is so small is because what has happened in your past is not nearly as important as what is in your future.”
That’s good, isn’t it?
In other words, let the past be the past at last. The more we hang onto the past, the harder it is to move forward with confidence, excitement and a drive to fulfill our individual callings.
If someone has hurt you, forgive that person (even if you have to forgive by faith because you’re not feeling it), and move on. Or, if you had a troubled childhood, filled with more heartache than happiness, give it to God! Shake it off and move forward.
I realize that those things are easier said than done, but with God all things are possible. You can move forward, if you’ll only stop looking back.
As I pondered the podcast’s message, I realized it’s not always the bad things in our past that we have to let go of in order to move on; sometimes, it’s the really good things.
When my father died in 2004 and my mom joined him in heaven in 2006, everything changed. The holidays were no longer joyful like they had been in the past. The family get-togethers weren’t filled with laughter and traditions. My extended family stopped meeting up for special occasions. Life as I’d always known it, just kind of came to a halt.
Since the present without my parents was lacking, I kept looking back to “the good old days” when Mom and Dad lived next door, and we enjoyed their company every day–when the family was close, and holidays and get-togethers were filled with faith, food and fun.
I stopped living and simply settled for “existing.” I wasn’t creating new memories, establishing new traditions or making an effort to see my extended family. I was still looking back and longing for the way things used to be.
It took me a while to realize that the past had become my focus. When I finally took my eyes off the past and put them back onto Jesus, I could happily live in the present and look to the future with hope.
So, where’s your focus today? If it’s in the past, it’s time to shift your focus to the future. Let go and let God. Let your past be the past at last and realize that today is a gift so live it to the fullest. Rejoice! Our best days are still ahead.
