That Which Stops Progress

He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt. Genesis 19:25, 26 New Living Translation

Journeys are meant to progress forward. They entail leaving behind the things we once clung to and held dear. The first steps can be the most painful and daunting but they are necessary. One must realize though that other steps forward must follow the initial ones taken. For Lot’s wife, she started on the journey away from Sodom, following behind her husband. But not far down the road of departure she stopped, looked back, and brought about the consequences of being turned into a pillar of salt. Her journey ended!

While I may look back on places in my life I miss and often long for, and will not be turned into a pillar of salt because of it, God is presently teaching me a valuable lesson. Whenever I look back I stop my own progress. My heart can only be directed forward or backward….both are not possible at the same time. In a sense, when I look back and allow the loss to consume me, it has the same effect on me as being turned into a pillar of salt. I become stuck in that one place. All movement stops, all growth stops, all freedom stops, all development stops UNTIL I determine to get my eyes back on Jesus and the journey He has in store for me.

This morning I am asking myself why I even look back. The answers are revealing some mindsets that need God’s touch. Looking back comes when I am convinced the past is more pleasant than the present or the future. When the comforts of the past feel more secure than the present or the future. When the people of the past seem more encouraging then the present or the future. But what I fail to realize is that the very things I look back to were at one time “future” for me. Before the people came into my life, they were the things God had in store for me. With that in mind, am I believing a lie that God does not continue to have relationships and events planned out for me to eventually experience? I was! But not now!

The truth is, God still has good things in store for me. He still has significant people to bring into my life. He still has things to teach me. As long as I take in breath I am in His company, under His care, upheld by His mercy, and living in His embrace. With that in mind, I once again face the front, grasp His hand, and proceed with joy!

Father, I have wasted so much time looking back. You have a journey laid out for me. I step on to the trail with abandon as I join You for what is ahead! Amen.