“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” ~ Philippians 3:13
REFERENCE:
All that God will do in your life is not behind you but ahead of you. As painful as yesterday was, your best days are in front of you, so look forward and reach forward. It is not God’s plan that you will be a victim of your past or that your best testimonies will be in days gone. He will yet surpass His record in your life. The glory of your latter shall be greater than your former.
After seasons of little progress in life, family, or career, the likelihood of predicting your future by consulting the past is real. However, be aware that God’s mercies are new every day. He created the world with no existing material; He can make a glorious future for you even though your past does not provide Him with any raw material (wealth or victories) He can work with.
Apostle Paul could look into his past to draw inspiration and despair. He witnessed great miracles of salvation and bodily healing, was protected by God in his many travels, was beaten and stoned, shipwrecked, supported by saints, and had some great men on his team. However, as good or bad as these were, Paul chose to reach forward. He saw a goal he had not yet reached, which he must reach. He decided to shut his eyes and mind on yesterday.
Anatomically, God placed your eyes in front of your head because your motion in life will always be in the direction of your vision. Let the direction of your life be forward. You may have been heartbroken, disappointed, rejected, bereaved, failed, lost money in business, or experienced a delay in life, but still reach forward. It matters not how you begin but how you end in life. God is waiting for you at the finish line. If you finish well, it will not matter if you ever failed.
Decide today to reach forward to new realities regardless of past experiences. Don’t be like Lot’s wife, who was petrified and could not let go of her familiar past. Don’t look back! You cannot be content with where you have come from; it is where you are going that is important. God has a prepared place for you; He is only preparing you for that place. Therefore, reach forward.
PHOTO QUOTE
ADDITIONAL TEXTS:
Deuteronomy 2:2-3, Genesis 19:12-26, and Ecclesiastes 7:8-10
CONFESSION
I declare today that I reach forward and refuse to go backward. Yesterday may not have been good, I may have been hurt, and my answers to my desires may not have come. I receive healing and step out of the shadows of my past. I move out of the old order, season, and pattern. I move into a new season of life. My beginning may have been small, but my end shall increase with great abundance in Jesus’ name.
