By Keziah G. Huelar
CPU gears up for greater heights this 2019.
With the New Year fast approaching, it’s important to reflect on God’s goodness and faithfulness this 2018. But, equally important to remembering is learning to “forget”—to overlook an offense, to move forward without the burden of the past, and most importantly, to surrender to Christ whatever the future holds.
In Genesis 18, the Bible talks about how God is heavily displeased with Sodom and Gomorrah. In the next chapter, before destroying the city, God sends two angels to warn Lot (Abraham’s nephew) and instruct them to leave the city immediately. Together with his wife and two daughters, Lot flees the city. One crucial instruction the angels give them is to “not look back.” However, while escaping, his wife turns towards the burning city and as a consequence, she is turned into a pillar of salt.
Perhaps, while fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s wife thought of the riches they left behind, the life they’d established, and the plans they had for their family. Her doubts made her think that staying behind was better than trusting God.
She chose to look back rather than to look forward to the plans God had for her and her family.
Quite true to all of us, there are moments in our lives when our past holds us back. Pride, heartache, a missed opportunity, a mistake, an insecurity, or a hidden sin can hinder us from becoming who God wants us to be.
Like Lot’s wife, we often go about our own way, looking back, thinking of the could-have-been’s and the should-have-not’s, not knowing that what lies ahead of us is the perfect plan of God.
This 2019, let us choose to trust God, to receive His forgiveness, and most importantly, to not look back on the things that hinder us from pursuing His purpose in our lives.
Whenever pride creeps in, know that in James 4:6, God “opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” If a missed opportunity haunts us, declare Romans 8:28, “All things work together for good to those who love God and work according to His purpose.”
Whenever a past heartache comes knocking, remember that in Psalm 34:18, The Lord promises that He “is near the broken hearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” If a past mistake or sin condemns you, Isaiah 43:1b tells us, “Do not fear for [God has redeemed us]”; Hebrews 8:12 further encourages that if we ask for forgiveness from God, “[He] will forgive our wickedness and will never again remember [our] sins.”
When our insecurities belittle us, declare Jeremiah 29:11: God knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us—plans to give us a hope and a future. Moreover, Philippians 1:6 says, being confident in this, God, who began a good work in you, will carry it to completion until Jesus Christ returns.
Just as God puts new wine on new wineskin, may we also have a new mindset of hope and optimism in the New Year.