FOCUSING ON LOOKING FORWARD
(Philippians 3:13) Learn from it and move on
Dear Friends, here we are, mere hours away from entering into a brand new year: 2016 will have many making New Year’s resolutions, while at the same time there are hundreds perhaps even thousands of believers are planning to re-dedicate, offer total surrender, and/or begin a brand new committed walk with Christ Jesus.
As children of God, we are focusing our thoughts on The Second Coming of Jesus: and armed with New attitudes, we are letting go of the past, and as we grow in the Word of God, we joyfully acknowledge that God is about to mix the former latter rain of His Blessings and shower us abundantly with the Power of His Anointing.
Sometime ago I read a wonderful story in a Daily Devotion Magazine, that I’d like to share with you now, and I pray that you will be ever so inspired by it as I was.
One day in an orchard, seven-year-old Walter noticed an owl sleeping on a branch. Thinking it would make a wonderful pet he approached quietly and grabbed its leg. In a flurry of beating wings, wild eyes and frightened cries, the bird struggled so the boy threw it down and stomped it to death. Horrified by his actions, he fled. When he returned later to bury it, each shovelful of earth was mixed with tears of regret. The incident haunted him and he told no one about it – till years later when it had awakened in him a fresh appreciation for life. All the promises in the world couldn’t bring back that one owl, but through its death a world of animals was born. The boy’s gone, but his legacy lives on in the drawings of Walter Elias. . . aka, Walt Disney.
Charles Dickens said, “Reflect on your blessings of which every man has plenty, not on your past misfortunes of which all men have some.” Learn from your past, then “Focus on…looking forward.”
Paul Harvey writes: “The relationships we entered, stayed in, or ended, taught us important lessons. Some of us have emerged from painful circumstances with strong insights about who we are and what we want. Our mistakes? Necessary! Our frustrations, failures…stumbling attempts at growth and progress? Necessary too! Each step of the way we learned. We went through exactly what we needed to become who we are today. Is our past a mistake? No. Our mistake is mistaking that for the truth.” God can ‘reframe’ our past in the light of the grace and mercy that brought us to where we are today. So, what are we to do? We are to learn from it and move on. Amen
Trials and Temptations
James 1:2-5 (NIV)
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
Paul Harvey writes: “The relationships we entered, stayed in, or ended, taught us important lessons. Some of us have emerged from painful circumstances with strong insights about who we are and what we want. Our mistakes? Necessary! Our frustrations, failures…stumbling attempts at growth and progress? Necessary too! Each step of the way we learned. We went through exactly what we needed to become who we are today. Is our past a mistake? No. Our mistake is mistaking that for the truth.” God can ‘reframe’ our past in the light of the grace and mercy that brought us to where we are today. So, what are we to do? We are to learn from it and move on. Amen
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