Glance Back, Gaze Forward

Well, here we are again, entering into another new beginning. These new beginnings are wonderful opportunities to assess where we’ve been and to prayerfully consider where we are going. Now is where we remind ourselves of what God did for us in the past and ask ourselves what we did for God. It is the time when we dream about the future and pray for God’s vision for our lives. It is the time to celebrate that the old things have become new in Christ.

It is important to pause in these times of transition and celebrate the blessings of God in our lives. Now is when we pay attention to the wonder and beauty of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Now is when we appreciate the relationships of our lives and strength that we gain from them. Now is when we offer thanks for God’s provision and recognize how God brought us through another year.

As we look over the past year, we recall how we served God and grew in the knowledge and love of him. Here is where we thank God for the insight and vision given to us and for the ability to overcome. Here is the time when we can celebrate our successes and rejoice in the victories of our lives.

This is also the time when we remember the challenges and, dare I say, mistakes, of the past year. This is when we look honestly at where we can grow and what we can learn from the places where things did not work out. This is the time when we offer all of our past to God and learn the lessons he desires we learn.

While we look back, it is easy to be caught in our past. From idealizing our younger years to feeling bound by past mistakes, we can feel the grip of what has already happened and miss the liberation that is ours in Jesus Christ. It is important to remember where we came from and the experiences that shaped us into who we are today, but we can only truly appreciate the past when we understand that God holds our future. As he spoke through Jeremiah, “I know the plans I have for you… plans for good to give to you a future and a hope.”

God has a wonderful future for each of us. He knows how to take our successes, our failures, our wounds and our dreams and weave them together into something beautiful. Ge wants to fulfill the desires of our heart while we fulfill our destiny with him. We need to put our trust in God and, glancing back toward our past, return our gaze forward to focus on what lies ahead on our exciting journey with Jesus.

I pray that you will celebrate all that this New Year brings and the great joy that comes from walking with God as you do. I pray that you will give God your past and let him give you your future. Trust in God and he will direct your paths.

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