I loved Don’s message Sunday. I especially liked the analogy of the plow. He said that there is no way you can plow a straight line if you keep looking backwards. He referred to Philippians 3:13-14 as one of the scripture passages. “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 don’t know about you, but I have made some mistakes in my life. Some are big and some are small, but they often come back to the surface and make me feel like I am unworthy of Jesus’ unconditional love. It is amazing to me that I can be having an awesome day, something pops up to make me remember my shortcoming and it steals my joy. But like Don said, “The past is the past and you can’t get it back. Move on!”
We must focus on the goal and let the past stay in the past. You and I both know that Satan brings up the memories of things that we are not proud of in order to impede our progress toward the goal.
When I am mowing in the field, I TRY to mow in a straight line. What I discovered is that when I find an object to focus on in the distance, and I keep my eye trained on that object, my lines are pretty straight. Sometimes, when I look behind me to see how straight it was, I see where my line was not perfectly straight. Why do I even look behind me to see how I am doing? Because I am human, and I want to be perfect. When I see a row that looks more like a snake than a line, I usually go back over it to make it better. Isn’t that what we are called to do? Do better next time and leave the past in the past. Do you know what is really amazing? He has thrown our mistake as far as the east is from the west. We are forgiven. Unbelievable.
Don’t look backward. Look forward and Shine, Shine, Shine!
Tina