[Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Do not look back

By Oke Chinye

Read: Genesis 19:1-29

Meditation verse:

“But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26)

As the curtains slowly close over this year and we get set to enter the new year, what is your state of mind? Gratitude, peace and serenity or confusion, frustration, and regret? What posture are you currently adopting? If you feel grateful, you will be looking up to God with praise and thanksgiving in your heart. If you feel confused and frustrated, you will be looking around you, searching for answers to why this happened or why that did not happen. If you feel regretful, you will be looking back in regret, dissatisfaction, or longing.

In today’s reading, God had decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. He sent two angels to warn Lot to flee with his family. The instruction was “escape for your life, do not look behind you”. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Looking back is dangerous; it stalls your movement, hinders your progress, and keeps you rooted in the same spot. When you keep looking back, you are identifying with what is behind including your mistakes, fear, errors and all. Stop looking back at what should or should not have been, what is ahead of you is more important. The past is gone, quit reliving it and get excited about the prospects of the forth coming new year. You cannot open a new chapter of your life if you keep reading the previous one.

As this year rolls to an end and we get set to enter the new year, what posture should you adopt? Look up to God in gratitude, faith, and anticipation. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope”. Psalm 121:1-3 states, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber”. These are God’s promises over your life. So, get excited about the forth coming new year.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

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