Your Rear Mirror

Dearly Beloved,

YOUR REAR MIRROR

“Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old” (Isaiah 43:18 AMP).

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14 NIV).

Recently while I was driving to my office, I was trying to go through a by-pass to beat the notorious traffic jam from my home to my office. From my vehicle rear mirror, I discovered that some other vehicles were also avoiding the traffic jam. I was losing focus on my driving as I concentrated on the rear mirror, then it dawned on me that the rear mirror was not designed for long concentration. Indeed, anyone who concentrates on the rear mirror of his/her vehicle while driving is heading for an accident. 

Many people are also concentrating on the “rear mirror” of their life: their past experiences. It does not matter whether these experiences were good or bad. Such people allow those experiences to deprive them of the enjoyment of the present and the prospect of the future. Such people would find it difficult to face the challenges that accompany the enjoyment of the present and the prospect of the future.

God, through Prophet Isaiah, told His people not to remember the former things nor consider the things of old, their “rear mirror” (see Isaiah 43:18). The reason was that God was preparing to do a new thing in their lives so great and wonderful that it shall surpass the former things that God had done in their lives. In Philippians 3:12-14, Paul said categorically that he would forget the former things and press on toward the greater thing he was aiming at. He knew that concentrating on the former things could be disastrous.

What is your own “rear mirror”? What is the former thing that is catching your attention? Are you still concentrating on it? No matter how good or bad the thing may be, do not concentrate your attention on it. Forget it and aim for a better thing. The Lord will do new thing in your life, but do not let the old thing deprive you of enjoying the new thing. Stop concentrating on your “rear mirror”!

In His service,