NO BACKWARD LOOKS

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“Jesus said, ‘No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.’” (Luke 9:62 MSG)

Are you wasting time looking backwards?

Fixated on:

Those mistakes?

Those missteps?  

Maybe reminders of them come in the mail. Reminders of the divorce, the fines, the settlement, or the obligation. Maybe they come in the form of lies that whisper, “You will always be what you were, nothing more.”

I took a fella that I had the honor of baptizing about 3 years ago to breakfast and church yesterday.  He, while pretty good yesterday, has had his share of ups and downs since emerging from the tank that Sunday in 2015. Homelessness, addiction, relapse, with some stints of recovery sprinkled in have been his recent journey.  And as we chatted, I couldn’t help but glean that HIS PAST had such a grip on him.

He talked about his abusive dad.

He talked about losing his momma.

He talked about all the “bad” that he had done right there in the town we were eating.

He talked about numbing himself to free him of it.

H

is focus was almost exclusively his past.

So much so that when I had asked him prior to us getting together to write down what he wanted to DO in the next 30/60/90 days ashamedly he said, “I couldn’t think of anything to write down.” “I’m stuck. I suck."  

The good news is he does HAVE A PLAN this morning! 

Several opportunities have opened for him and some much-needed help is on the doorstep!  And from his latest text, he is seizing this new day and these new chances for change!

But I don’t think my friend is alone in this.  

The enemy loves to exercise those weapons of regret and shame.  They are some of his favorites.  He knows if he can keep us looking back, he can keep us from what GOD has for us in the future!  That is why Jesus said, “no backward looks, seize the day!”  The question is are we seizing?

Remember…

This is the day HE has made, and we should rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24 (NIV)

And…

We…have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past ALL APPEARANCES right to the very presence of God… Hebrews 6:18-20 (MSG)

Far too often we allow the past to kink that LIFELINE to a great “present”

Remember friend, our past, after all, is something we have paid for, something we own. And because we own it, we can do whatever we like with it -- and that includes letting it go. And THAT is the key to a more peaceful, balanced and meaningful “present”.

So NOW is the time to draw a line THROUGH the past and move forward into the PROMISED HOPE of a fresher and freer today.

Emerson said…

"He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety...This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”

So, let’s DO as Jesus encourages!

Own this day. Wrestle it away from the past that wants to choke it and the future that wants to minimize it. 

Do not dilute the power of this new day with the hardship of yesterday. Greet this day the way it has greeted you; with open arms and endless possibility….

Seize the wonder and uniqueness of today!” ― Maraboli

I love you ALL!

Have a blessed day!!!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE