When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we aren't looking back at past mistakes or looking back at the past wistfully; we are allowing Jesus to guide us in how we can embrace every day for the purpose of bringing Him glory.
How many of you struggle with the habit of hindsight? Do you have a conversation with someone and then replay it hours later and think about what you could’ve said or should’ve said? Or maybe you struggle with shame about things you’ve done in the past which rears its ugly head when you receive a compliment about your character and you think, “Well, if you only knew what I’ve done…” You might struggle with spiraling when a besetting sin bothers you and you think, “What’s the use of even trying to do better if I’m just going to mess up anyway?” This inner dialogue truly can destroy a person. It keeps them in a shame cycle of focusing on the past and living there.
If you’re like me, you struggle with looking back in a different sense. It’s not necessarily looking back at negative things in your life but happier times, times when life was good and everything was going well. The problem with that type of look-back is you become discontent with your current circumstances. Pining for what was breeds unhappiness and ungratefulness because you aren’t looking for the blessings you have now despite life's hardships.
Whether you are looking back at past behaviors that were sinful or you're looking back at good times, which may breed the sin of bitterness toward your current life’s situation, this is not how the Lord wants us to live. This isn't the abundant life He died for us to have.
Those of you who grew up in the 70s remember the classic Fleetwood Mac song, “Don’t Stop”. The lyrics actually bring a little wisdom to our discussion here:
“If you wake up and don't want to smile
If it takes just a little while
Open your eyes and look at the day
You'll see things in a different way
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be better than before
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone
Why not think about times to come?
And not about the things that you've done
If your life was bad to you
Just think what tomorrow will do
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be better than before
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone”
Let’s look at three practices for breaking the habit of looking back right from the Word of God with a little help from Fleetwood Mac:
1. Open Your Eyes and Look at the Day
"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
When you talk to the elderly, many of them say they are grateful to have woken up that morning, to be given the gift of another day. One of my favorite lines came from an elderly gentleman at church who, when I greeted him with “Nice to see you this morning,” responded, “It’s nice to be seen and to be above ground.” LOL!
I would venture to say that for many of us, although we certainly appreciate the fact of another day, we don't necessarily face the day in that manner. Instead, we may grumble and think about all the things we have to get done, making us anxious before our feet even hit the floor. Rather than be anxious, remember God’s promise that His mercies are new every morning. Sadly, some may even wake up with regrets that haunt them as soon as they wake from slumber, focusing on the past rather than on a new day and a fresh start.
The lyrics from “Don’t Stop” give us another approach to the new day… “If you wake up and don't want to smile, If it takes just a little while, open your eyes and look at the day, you'll see things in a different way.” As children of God, when we “see things in a different way”, we do so by wearing our “Kingdom glasses”. We see that every day is a gift from the Lord and one to be embraced without looking back at past mistakes or wishing life was the way it once was. We focus on truly living in the present day for God’s glory. The Apostle Paul tells us in Hebrews 12:2 to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Jesus never said our lives were going to be easy, but He said that we can find rest in Him. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we aren't looking back at past mistakes or looking back at the past wistfully; we are allowing Jesus to guide us in how we can embrace every day for the purpose of bringing Him glory.
2. Remember That It’s Not About the Things You’ve Done
As believers in Jesus Christ, it really is not about the things we’ve done. Hebrews 10:17 says, “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Jesus has removed our sins as far as the East is from the West, yet, too often, when we fall back into our sinful ways, we spiral and become like a person who cheats on a diet one time and throws up their hands and says, “I’ll never lose weight. Might as well finish off this container of ice cream.” We justify our sin by looking back and deciding this is who we are.
Romans 7:18b-25 says, “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
When we look back at our past sins, where is that focus placed? Squarely on ourselves! Satan loves to use this tactic to trip us up and convince us that God doesn’t love us. When we look to Jesus in our sinfulness, we are coming to the God who promises that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (John 1:9). Remember, when we first came to Jesus in a confession of faith, His blood purified us from all sin!
Every day is a new day to walk in righteousness. Don’t look back at the sins of yesterday. Instead, focus on your Redeemer who has washed you white as snow.
3. Think About Times to Come
Confession: I don’t dwell on my heavenly home too often. Instead, I dwell on things of the past—even things from a few hours ago. The past is the past whether it was years ago or minutes ago. I get too caught up in life’s circumstances, which take up a lot of my time and thoughts. Can you relate?
I think Fleetwood Mac nailed it when they said, “Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here.
It'll be better than before.
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone”
As believers in Christ Jesus, we are all looking forward to that great day when He returns with a myriad of angels to bring us home with Him. What an amazing day that will be! And it will be here soon. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 says, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” And boy, will it be better than before! Yesterday truly is gone. All that matters is today and how we make the most of the time for God’s glory.
The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 3:13-14, "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
I know they say that to avoid anxiety you stay focused on the present moment, the present day, but when we are focused on the tomorrow of heaven’s glories when the Lord Jesus' presence will be our home, it will keep our eyes from ever looking back. Then, and only then, we will be filled with His peace. John 16:33 says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
As you have indulged me with this “spiritual” journey with Fleetwood Mac, I hope you can see the biblical parallels that I have drawn as a means to implement these practices for breaking the habit of looking back.
“Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be better than before
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone”
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/m-imagephotography
