These days I’m having a hard time looking forward.
As I pack all of my belongings into boxes, touching every knick knack and piece of paper in my file drawers, I’m drawn into the past. I recall conversations, people and gifts. I decide what’s worth keeping and what gets thrown out, donated or recycled. I also spend time lost in the memories of happenings at my house these past 12 years. I’m having a hard time letting go, particularly when I don’t have a new house to which I will be moving. I have nothing to which I can look forward.
Moving out from ibm4381
It’s a discouraging place to be.
Heartbreaking.
Ponder the idea for too long and I surely will be brought to tears.
In all things, I can learn from Jesus’ life. He lived his entire life knowing how it would end. He knew when he went to Jerusalem for the Passover that his time to be arrested would come. He knew he would be crucified on a cross. Isaiah prophesied of Christ’s attitude:
Is: 50:7: Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore, I have set my face like a stone,
determined to do his will.
And I know that I will not be put to shame.
In Jesus’ own words: “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62
Jesus aligned his mind and will with God’s and didn’t veer from the course. He looked ahead, not back.
Paul did, too. In Philippians 3:13, he said “…I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead…”
That should be our attitude as well, regardless of how uncertain the future may seem. Living in the past, we rob ourselves of our future. We get bogged down with what ifs, if onlys and regrets. With our eyes fixed on God and our will aligned with his, we can hope. We can trust that what lies ahead, while uncertain, is within God’s control. There’s nothing we can’t handle when we walk through it with God.
In God we trust from kevindooley
I don’t know what tomorrow holds. I am asking God to show me the one next step I need to take. Of course I’d like to have everything mapped out for me. But if it were, I wouldn’t need to depend on God. He’s teaching me dependence. He’s teaching me to relinquish control. He’s showing me I can survive amidst chaos and uncertainty. Yes, even now, he is working.
I find myself quoting Jeremiah 29:11 a lot these days: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
He does have good plans for my future. I will cling tightly to that promise in the weeks ahead.
How do you keep looking forward rather than living in your past? How do keep your eyes fixed on God when times seem uncertain?
I’m so excited for you! God is only able to bless you when you give Him the reins. Congratulations on doing that. We all need to be FROGS (fully reliant on God) at all times. He can do so much better than we can, if we let Him. I think that being homeless puts you in great company. “And Jesus said to him, ‘The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’”
What a great point – by being homeless, I get a glimpse of how Jesus lived. I’m doing my best to let go and give God control. I’m sure it’s what he wants me to learn through this time. Thanks for your perspective.
Like Abraham, you are called to a place you “know not.” I firmly believe you will be gretaly blessed in this journey, just as he was, so you can be a blessing.
When I keep my eyes focused on Christ, I know that he will use this time for greater purposes. It could be a turning point in my life if I allow him to lead me and refine in the days ahead. Thanks so much for your encouragement.
Pingback: Implicit Trust | Teachings from the Trail