Recently I discovered something that marveled me. I found out that majority of people where I live use the back of the house to get in, rather than use their front door because they want to keep it clean and tidy for visitors.
It puzzled me as I began to think why anyone would use the back door to get into their home instead of using their front door. Why would I drive to the back of my house, or walk around to the back when I can easily walk through the front door? Why should my front door be preserved for visitors only while myself and my family use the back door?
This bewilderment reminded me of Mrs. Lot (Gen 19v21-26), who with her husband Lot and their family left Sodom and Gomorrah because God was about to destroy it. But half way through their journey Mrs. Lot looked back at what she was leaving behind and became a pillar of salt. This story led God and me into a dialogue because I wanted to understand what Mrs. Lot was thinking.
Using the back door and looking back at the past is something all of us do at some stage in our lives. We wonder if done differently how things would have worked out. We wonder what we would have become if we had made different decisions. We spend lots of time pondering the question “what if”?
What if I did not move away? What if I did not quit that job? What if I had stayed married? What if, what if, what if?
I believe the reason Lot’s wife looked back, was because of what she had and now was about to lose. She looked back to see if truly God would destroy everything in the city. She looked back to her friends, her home, her lifestyle, everything she had worked hard to build and now was about to be destroyed. She could not handle it because her heart was still back there, she had to take one last look.
All of us have the tendency to look back when our present lives begin to change, and our future seems uncertain, and we are afraid. We look back to see if there were things we could have done differently.
Mrs. Lot didn’t know where she was going or what would happen to them, and she longed for her home and her old life, but Jesus reminds us of Mrs. Lot in Luke 17v32 KJV “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” We are encouraged to give up the past for God and not go back for anything, but rather keep moving forward.
Although difficult and sometimes challenging, it is possible to stop ourselves looking back and move forward with God.
1) Get to know God more. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 NIV.
2) Be determined. “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18 NIV
3) Close the back door and don’t question the past. “Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions.” Ecc 7v10 NIV.
4) Use the front door. “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” Haggai 2:9 NIV.
5) Stay focus. “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:14 NIV.
6) Trust God. “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” Isa 65:17 NIV.
I’m constantly encouraging myself and now I encourage you too, stop looking back at the past and focus on where God is taking you today and tomorrow. If you are not sure where God wants to take you, ask God and believe me when I say this “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jer 29v11 NIV
Stop using the back door and start using the front door because it will lead you to beautiful, peaceful and glorious things you have yet to see and enjoy. Your back door is to take out the old, and your front door is to bring in the new.***