Zeal
Well-Known Member
What Do You See Before You?
God has a good plan for each of our lives. Jeremiah 29:11 says, For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. In order for us to see this promise become a reality, we must choose to look away from the past and look forward to what God has ahead.
This reminds me of the time when Abram and his family came up out of Egypt(2). Both he and his nephew Lot had a great number of livestock, and the land where they lived was not able to support both of them. In an effort to remove the strife between them, Abram went to Lot and offered him first choice of the land that was before them. Lot looked it over and chose the well-watered land of the Jordan Valley.
The Lord said to Abram after Lot had left him, Lift up now your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your posterity forever. Arise, walk through the land…for I will give it to you (Genesis 13:14,15, 17). Notice that God didn’t tell Abram to look at where he was or what Lot had taken from him. He told Abram to look from the place where he was and that all he could see would be given to him and his generations to come. Then God said, “Arise.†In other words, he told Abram, “Make a fresh start—get up, and step-by-step, move
forward.â€
I believe the Lord is saying the same thing to you and me. He wants us to stop staring at where we are and where we’ve been and start looking at what lies ahead. Our God is a progressive God— always on the move. He tells us in Isaiah 43:18,19, Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing!… God wants to do something new right now! The possibilities are unlimited. It doesn’t matter how young, old, rich, poor, educated, or uneducated we are or even how many weaknesses we have. God can make miracles out of our messes!
It All Comes Down to Choice
Making a fresh start begins and continues as we consistently make right choices—nobody can do this for us. Deuteronomy 30:19 says, …I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live. Every time you and I choose to trust God’s Word and take the appropriate action, we will be blessed.
No matter how deep of a pit you are in, God’s arm is not too short to reach down and pull you out. If you’ve made mistakes, repent, get right with God and go on. Every day God gives you the opportunity of a fresh start with a clean slate. The only thing that stands between you and victory is YOU.
I encourage you to begin seeing yourself the way God sees you—as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus(3). Get your mind off of the past, and open your eyes to what God wants to do today. In Him there are no dead ends—only places for new beginnings!
(1) See Philippians 2:13. (2) See Genesis 13:1-18. (3) See 2 Corinthians 5:21.
God has a good plan for each of our lives. Jeremiah 29:11 says, For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. In order for us to see this promise become a reality, we must choose to look away from the past and look forward to what God has ahead.
This reminds me of the time when Abram and his family came up out of Egypt(2). Both he and his nephew Lot had a great number of livestock, and the land where they lived was not able to support both of them. In an effort to remove the strife between them, Abram went to Lot and offered him first choice of the land that was before them. Lot looked it over and chose the well-watered land of the Jordan Valley.
The Lord said to Abram after Lot had left him, Lift up now your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your posterity forever. Arise, walk through the land…for I will give it to you (Genesis 13:14,15, 17). Notice that God didn’t tell Abram to look at where he was or what Lot had taken from him. He told Abram to look from the place where he was and that all he could see would be given to him and his generations to come. Then God said, “Arise.†In other words, he told Abram, “Make a fresh start—get up, and step-by-step, move
forward.â€
I believe the Lord is saying the same thing to you and me. He wants us to stop staring at where we are and where we’ve been and start looking at what lies ahead. Our God is a progressive God— always on the move. He tells us in Isaiah 43:18,19, Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing!… God wants to do something new right now! The possibilities are unlimited. It doesn’t matter how young, old, rich, poor, educated, or uneducated we are or even how many weaknesses we have. God can make miracles out of our messes!
It All Comes Down to Choice
Making a fresh start begins and continues as we consistently make right choices—nobody can do this for us. Deuteronomy 30:19 says, …I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live. Every time you and I choose to trust God’s Word and take the appropriate action, we will be blessed.
No matter how deep of a pit you are in, God’s arm is not too short to reach down and pull you out. If you’ve made mistakes, repent, get right with God and go on. Every day God gives you the opportunity of a fresh start with a clean slate. The only thing that stands between you and victory is YOU.
I encourage you to begin seeing yourself the way God sees you—as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus(3). Get your mind off of the past, and open your eyes to what God wants to do today. In Him there are no dead ends—only places for new beginnings!
(1) See Philippians 2:13. (2) See Genesis 13:1-18. (3) See 2 Corinthians 5:21.
