HINDSIGHT IS 20/20- USE IT TO MOVE AHEAD
The autumn season is finally upon us and the leaves are starting to turn- CHANGE ISHERE.
Isaiah 43 AND the Exodus story gives us beautiful pictures of change and God as savior, deliverer, redeemer and restorer.
In verse 18 of Isaiah 43 he reminds us to forget our past and to not dwell there because He’s doing something new in our lives.
It is similar in the Exodus story, as we see God deliver them and position them for a greater future, remembering his covenant to give his people a promised land.
ARE YOU PERCEIVING THE NEW THING GOD IS DOING IN YOUR LIFE?
God used Moses to deliver the Hebrews from their Egyptian captors- but they didn’t view Moses correctly. Who is God trying to use in your life to bring you freedom?
We all have EGYPT SEASONS- places of captivity and hardship. These seasons, however long they are, can cause us to shrink back in our thinking, not seeing ourselves or others correctly; and if we’re not careful, we will be so caught up in the pain of the past that we do not see those God tries to send in our lives to deliver us.
God uses metaphorical language many times in scripture but I’m going to tell it to you plainly- LET GO! Let go of certain people, let go of the pain, you aren’t there anymore. God saved you and delivered you out of Egypt, stop trying to go back! Refuse to stay there anymore in your memories. It is seductive in nature and will try to suck you back into what appears to be comfort. The Hebrews understood how to navigate their lives in Egypt, as terrible as it was, it was comfortable in many ways. God used signs and wonders to deliver them from that captivity and prove himself to them. What sign has God given you that you haven’t perceived correctly?
Where are you in this story today? What is God trying to get you to see but you can’t because you keep REMEMBERING the past with fondness?
For some reason the Egyptians kept looking back at Egypt once they were freed, like it was some wonderful place. They LONGED TO GO BACK!
FOR WHAT?!?! Had they forgotten the slavery and bondage and restrictions that Egypt represented?
The deception for us today is to look at the past and memorialize it just like them, forgetting the pain and the captivity we experienced in our own lives. They fantasized about Egypt, instead of rightly discerning the truth and reality of slavery and control.
THEY WERE DECEIVED! Are you? Deception is very real and presents itself as truth.
The TRUTH is that God has GOOD plans for you! But God will not control your future decisions- you must. Your decisions and your words create and pave the road to your future.
Jeremiah 29:11 shows us Gods desire for us but we must appropriate this truth in our lives.
Times of captivity and bondage traps us into thinking that captivity and abuse is normal. For example:
“Battered woman syndrome (BWS) is a psychological condition and describes a pattern of behavior that develops in victims of domestic violence as a result of serious, long-term abuse. BWS is dangerous primarily because it can lead to what some scholars say is “learned helplessness” — or psychological paralysis — where the victim becomes so depressed, defeated, and passive that she believes she is incapable of leaving her abuser.
This gripping fear feels absolutely real to the victim. Feeling weak, and possibly holding out hope that her abuser will stop hurting her, the victim remains in the abusive situation. This continues the cycle of domestic violence and strengthens the BWS grip.”
You may not be a battered woman but the principle of this psychological warfare is real.
It’s similar to our understanding of the Hebrews leaving Egypt and their wilderness experience with Moses. The way we think about our past is key to seeing our future correctly. This will require us to meditate on God’s Word and take steps to see the change we desire. It doesn’t just happen. We have a part to play in our own deliverance.
God knows the plans he has for you- do you believe it? Sometimes I think that Satan believes more than we do about our future and the promise that it holds.
BUT GOD -who is rich in mercy will help you and bring others to help as well!
I pray this week that you are able to comprehend with all other believers Ephesians 3:16-19. The revelation of the love of God that surpasses the knowledge of our past experiences and enables us by his mighty power to grasp how wide and long, how high and deep his love really is for us. As we grasp this great love we are empowered to leave the pain of our past and look forward to the great future Christ died to give us.
Hindsight is indeed 20/20- so shift your thinking today, away from what was and LET the love of God help you look back, only to GAIN the hindsight from past seasons.
You need this insight for the days ahead to make right decisions and to capture the potential of your future.
BE ENCOURAGED-as Jesus calls you forward.
-Dana