But [Lot’s] wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. __ Genesis 19:26 (AMPC)
Genesis 19:12-26 tells us the story about Lot’s wife. Luke 17:32 tells us to “Remember Lot’s wife!” We know the story of Lot’s wife. Lot and his wife had to leave the city where they lived in order to escape the destruction God would bring upon that city because of the sin that was in the city. They were instructed not to look back as they left the city. She was told not to look back, but she looked back anyway and was stopped in her tracks when she became a pillar of salt. She was destroyed because she looked back.
In what situation in your life do you need to heed God’s instruction not to look back? You have to let go of what lies behind and press forward. If you don’t, the past will destroy your future. If a runner in a race keeps looking back, it is going to slow him down.
Therefore, since we are encompassed about with such a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. __Hebrews 12:1 (MEV)
Christians have a race to run. So we have to stay focused and keep our eyes on the prize. We don’t want anything to slow us down. We want to make spiritual progress. Looking back can stop your spiritual growth or cause you to give up.
So, don’t look back! When you look back, you see all of your past mistakes. God can make miracles out of mistakes. You see sins you have committed, your old life. You see the things that you have already confessed to God and have been forgiven for. So forget the past! Shake it off! Bury it! Haven’t you asked God to forgive you?
John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Don’t you believe God’s Word? The Lord has forgiven you and He has also forgotten about your confessed sins. So stop remembering what God has forgotten. How does God view your past sins? He hates them, but he doesn’t hate you. He loves you!
Isaiah 43:25 says, “I, even I, am He Who blots out and cancels your transgressions, for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
Micah 7:19 says, “He will again have compassion on us; He will subdue and tread underfoot our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
God has forgiven your past mistakes. Now, can you forgive yourself?
Prayer: Lord God, I thank You that You are a God of a second chance. Help me Lord not to dwell on the past, but receive your forgiveness and press on to the life You have planned for me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Copyright © 2016 by Miranda Burnette. All rights reserved.
