Scripture: “Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.” – Psalm 25:15
Explanation of Song: Annie Johnson Flint (1866-1932) faced great hardship in her life including losing both of her parents at an early age. Saved at the age of 10, she kept a positive outlook as she felt it was her duty as a “soldier of Christ”. Later as a young adult, she developed crippling rheumatoid arthritis and also lost both of her adoptive parents. Despite the debilitating pain in her hands, Annie found solace in writing short poems of encouragement and using them in her hand-lettered cards. Eventually, her poems were noticed and published. In 1919, she wrote the hymn “I Look Not Back” that explains why she focuses on Jesus and not her physical sufferings. She believed that God had laid her aside for a purpose, and her faith in Him never faltered.
Application: When I was growing up, cell phones had yet to be invented and taking pictures was not as common as it is today. As a result, I must rely on my memory to recall special people or events in my life that happened long ago. Most of my memories remind me of good times, like my wedding or the birth of my grandchildren. However, some memories are not so good and take me places I don’t particularly want to go. When I reflect back on certain things, like family deaths or job problems, I feel the negative emotions that go right along with them.
The worst memories I have revolve around past sins. When I reflect back on certain sins in my life, I am filled with remorse and struggle with the forgiveness my mind knows I have received from God, but my heart finds it difficult to accept. Jeremiam 17:9 reminds me that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” I find myself wrestling with the guilt and memories of the past, and often the result is another rush to the Lord begging for forgiveness. My mind has to remind my heart of two very important biblical truths.
1. According to 1 John 1:9, God forgave me the first time I asked Him to do so.
- “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
2. Hebrews 10:17 assures me that God has forgotten the sins He has already forgiven.
- “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”
The Bible also warns against turning back toward sin in Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” If it was a temptation back then, it is a temptation today. Being saved doesn’t mean that I am immune to the temptations of sin. That is why God provides a way out every time we face any temptation to sin. 1 Corinthians 10:13 states, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Jesus was tempted Himself, so He completely understands the fleshly battle we face with sin. He has given us the strength of His Spirit to say “no” and the weaponry of Scripture to be the foundation of our defense against sin. First and foremost, don’t look back!
When God poured out His judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s wife was warned to not look back as she was fleeing the city (Genesis 19:17). However, she chose to disobey the Lord, and turned to look at all that she was leaving. My speculation is that she wasn’t looking back in curiosity. Instead, she was looking back in regret for the sinful lifestyle she was leaving behind. As a consequence, her sin was her doom. Genesis 19:26 records the consequence of her disobedience and sinful desires, “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
In Philippians 3:13, Paul instructs us to look to our future, not to our past. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,” Focusing on what we used to be and do hinders our relationship with Jesus. In much of Paul’s writings, he uses the analogy of athletic competition. Runners don’t keep their eyes on the starting line; they focus on crossing the finishing line and winning the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24). Hebrews 12:2 explains where our eyes should be, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
So, I am not to look back upon my rebellious years, former toxic relationships, or the bad habits from which God has already saved me. They only serve to create self-judgement and keep me enslaved to sin. Instead, I am given a beautiful recipe for creating new and glorious memories that serve only to strengthen my faith in my precious Jesus. Philippians 4:8 encourages me with these words, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” That which God has prepared for my future is far better than anything I left behind!
Memory Verse: “I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” – Psalm 16:8
Stretching your thoughts:
1. What is it that causes you to doubt full forgiveness of past sins?
2. What verse(s) can help you remember that God “remembers them no more”?
I look not back; God knows the fruitless efforts,
The wasted hours, the sin, the deep regrets.
I leave them all with him who blots the record,
And graciously forgives, and then forgets.
But I look up into the face of Jesus,
For there my heart can rest, my fears are stilled;
And there is joy, and love, and light for darkness,
And perfect peace, and ev'ry hope fulfilled.
(from “I Look Not Back”by Annie Johnson Flint)