LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, May 30, 2019

The older I get the more I realize that in regard to the earthly portion of my life there is more to look back on then there is to look ahead to. That is a scary thought for me. I have lived more than two-thirds of my life already. I also realize that every backward look takes on a new perspective. Looking back used to involve regret as I looked at the failures and the hardships. It was not pleasant, and it was to be avoided at all cost. Now I look back with respect as I see the hand of God bringing me to this point of my relationship with Him. Looking back at self creates insecurity. Looking back at God builds my faith.

Deuteronomy 4:32-35 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other.

God has given each of us a physical and a spiritual history. The people of Israel had the tendency to look at their physical history, and when the present got tough they ignored the spiritual and desired the temporary and inconsistent benefits of the physical. They were willing to sacrifice the future on the altar of the flesh.

We sometimes do the same. We have been guilty of impatience. We have not waited long enough to experience the blessings of our faith and instead have turned back to the seemingly satisfying offerings of the world. Now looking back, we realize that despite our turning back, our selfish ambitions, and our human timetables, God has been faithful to fulfill His promise to us as His children and has brought us to the edge of the Promised Land. There is no other god like our God. The LORD JEHOVAH is His Name!

Spend some time today reflecting on the past, specifically asking God to show you the great and awesome deeds He has done to guide you on your spiritual journey. Has anything ever happened that has been so great as God’s personal invitation to join Him on an incredible adventure with eternal objectives?  Can anything compare with His personal involvement in our lives to guarantee the long-term success of that adventure? I think not! May our minds be transformed from looking at the physical to experiencing the spiritual. In all the history of the world, nothing can compare to what God has done in our lives, and He has more to do.

Pastor John