Don’t Look Back

Sometimes it seems easier to go back to the familiar of our old life, tempted with knowledge of what seems familiar. We don’t know what the future holds for us and the unknown can have us believing it would be best for us to stay where we are or to go back to what we know. That way we can predict how things will turn out and be in control. Even though we know it was not serving us, we know it is a toxic situation, we know it is harming us mentally and physically. It can be difficult for us to release all we’ve ever known.

As followers of Jesus we should be more concerned with what God wants for us than what we want for ourselves. If we are consistently communicating with God and asking the Holy Spirit for guidance, seeking wisdom from the bible, He will guide us into a future that will prosper us. Yes, we will face difficulties, but if you know you are living in the purpose of what God wants for you, then you will have his grace and mercy and strength to carry you through. You have the grace for where He has placed you. As your relationship with God grows from strength to strength, God will give you the desires of your heart, for it is God who puts those desires there in the first place. The things which you once held dear, maybe you will lose all desire for. Perhaps there is something in your life that you are holding on to so tight, not knowing what is going to happen when you let go, even though you know that God wants you to let go. You need to close that door before God opens another one. God cannot place what He has for you into your hand if it is so tightly closed around something else. You have to trust in Him completely because God will never lead you to somewhere he will not sustain you. God loves you unconditionally and will always have your best interests at heart. God hears all the conversations that you have not been a part of. God knows the hearts of all people. So you can trust that where he directs you is all going to work out in your favour.

I became estranged from my family around 2 years ago. Even in church you can be ostracised by people who believe that you should always stay in contact with your parents, they raised you etc. I’ve yet to hear anyone, who hasn’t been through this asking what did the parents do that made their child walk away. Why in family dynamics does it seem that the children who have to walk away are always shamed for the decisions they made. Let me tell you, just because you choose to walk away from someone does not mean that you don’t love them, it does not mean that you don’t want them to thrive and live their best life. It does mean that you will no longer put up with the way they treat you and their lack of accountability. You learn to choose yourself this time. I chose to walk away because there was no repentance on the other side, no want for actual healthy conversations to talk through issues, just a double-down on the lies and sweep it under the rug mentality. That’s not to say there won’t be room for restoration in the future. This is just where I currently am whilst I focus on healing.

When you’ve sought God and He says the right thing for you to do is leave, it will always be for your own protection. He does not want His children living in abusive situations. You are not honouring yourself as a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit to allow people to treat you in an abusive manner. Jesus asks us in Luke chapter 17 to Remember Lot’s wife. If you read the story in Genesis chapter 19, you will see that the angels told Lot and his family not to look back as Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed and they would be led to safety. Lot’s wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt, and destroyed. This should be a warning to us, that if we look back to where we have come from it could destroy us. It is highly unlikely we would be turned into a pillar of salt as Lot’s wife did. It could destroy our spiritual life, our health. It could bring disaster into our lives. The very thing God was trying to protect you from when he told you not to go back. God’s protection was there for you, but it was your choice to look back.

We all make mistakes, this journey called life has many twists and turns. God will always always take us back, he will always forgive us. The price has already been paid on our behalf, but if we want to live victoriously in the purposes of God then we must be obedient and surrender our own desires and wants and need for control over to God. It will always work out in our favour if we follow His direction.