Monday Morning Manna

Monday, September 27

Monday Morning Manna   

Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Proverbs 4:25-26

Difficult times and challenging situations are all a part of everyday life. And if we could choose, I am sure we would almost always prefer to side-step these times. The Lord doesn’t want us constantly looking back at what once was. Instead He instructs us to keep our eyes looking ‘straight ahead’ and focused on Him. On the other hand our enemy does — he wants us to feel discouraged and helpless and contemplate over and over on what we can never change. Sure, if we need to repent or make something right, we ought to go ahead and do it. But God does not want us drowning in all that could be. He doesn’t want us drowning in self-pity or regret about past mistakes, or hopelessly longing for what can never be again. Our Lord does not want us to live in the ‘what if’, He wants us to remain in the ‘what now’ which requires that we look ahead. He wants us to say, “Forget what was — the future is where my destiny lies and I will meet the Lord there in His purposes for me.” He wants us to live in the now and that’s faith. And it’s well based on everything in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has done for us, promised us, and called us to.

Just about as often as we worry for tomorrow, we fret about yesterday. How many times do we find ourselves saying, “I wish things could be the way they were, I wish I was younger, I wish I could fit into those jeans again, I wish I didn’t make that terrible mistake … you fill in the blank”?

We have to choose to move on, or else the enemy will try to pull us even further into the whirlpool of despair, because he wants us in a state of regret, negativity, guilt and self-condemnation. In this downward spiral we do not look within to see what remains in our power to fix the situation, we look outside of us and begin pointing fingers at everyone else. When the truth is this – you the POWER to change now. Even if the other person is unwilling or not able to forgive us we can rest in God`s forgiveness and trust Him for the restoration.

I leave you with the words written in Philippians 3:13 ‘But I focus on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead’.

Prayer for today: Dear Father, thank You that You never leave me nor forsake me. Help me to be reminded of this truth daily. Help me to not get caught up in self-condemnation. Help me to not get side-tracked and to keep my focus on You. Amen.