Which Way To Turn?

One day I was driving and I reached to adjust my rear view mirror. It fell off in my hand! My first thought was could I safely drive without it? My next thought was why in the world it fell off!

Of course the simple solution was to use my 2 side mirrors until repairs could be made. As I made the adjustments with my eyes to the other mirrors, I started thinking about looking in that rear view mirror of our lives. About not looking back, but looking forward.

Yes when we are driving we need to continually check that rear view mirror. We need to be aware of what’s happening behind us, in case we need to quickly change lanes.

In our lives though we need to be careful how much time we spend reflecting on the past. If you reflect too long on something, it can bring regret. Then regret brings other unproductive thoughts and pretty soon we are an emotional wreck! We have discouraged ourselves by allowing the past to influence our current behavior.

We need to bury regret and turn the page. A brand new clean, fresh page with no mistakes. Yet! We will continue to fill that page with new mistakes but there isn’t room for the old ones. The page will also be filled with overcoming. We learn to overcome and obey the Lord by the things we suffer. We don’t need to keep repeating the same behavior.

Sometimes we need to look back and refresh our minds with the good things God has done. He has made a way through the rough seas of trials that threatened to engulf us. Each new wave brought more anguish and we were  seemingly drowning in despair. However, the Lord rescued us and we need to remember those times to give us courage to press through our current obstacles.  Moses had faith to look ahead to what would be, not to focus on what was!

So which way to look? Forward? Backward? How about upward? When Daniel was in the lions den I don’t think he was looking back regretting that he disobeyed the king, and prayed to his God. I don’t know that he was really looking forward to the uncertainty of his situation.  I do know that he was looking upward to the God who could save him from the hungry lions and make a way in a very precarious situation. He had come to know his God and he knew the power that was at his disposal. I believe he slept peacefully that night in the lions den and so did the lions.

Everyday thousands of thoughts pass through our minds and we are constantly challenged which way to look. Which way to focus our thoughts so they are productive and positive. It’s far too easy to slip into discouragement. To allow ourselves to be swallowed by past failures instead of grabbing the bull by the horns and relishing the new opportunities to overcome.