How Looking Back Can Help Us Move Forward

I am learning that sometimes to move forward; we first need to look back.

When I asked God for a word at the beginning of 2022, I could not have foreseen how God would use a specific word and verse to sum up almost every day of my life in 2022. 

So many things hit my family and me last year. If I was to be truly honest, I battled doubting my Christian walk with God more than I ever had before. Frustration and discouragement at times were like wolves at my heels.  

But My Jesus!

He has kept me thus far, even amid flames, fire, and flood. Even when the winds were blowing so fiercely, trying to blow me off course, it was hard to see any hope for my future through the blinding rain from the storms of this life.  

Maybe you have never doubted God’s goodness before, but I have battled in the trenches to overcome the mindset that God is forever good to “her” but not me when life gets hard. Heads Up, friend. When life is hard, one of the first things the enemy will try to do is make you doubt God’s goodness to You. It started in the garden, and the enemy has been relentless to stop.

I declare this as my statement of faith today because Revelation 12:11 reminds us that we overcome by the blood of our Jesus and the word of our testimony. If you have never had this life ravage you like in wartime, I will break the news to you. You will. If you have any desire to serve God, the enemy will always come to steal, kill and destroy a life that has its heart set on serving God. And in those times, you better grab a word and hold on to it, for you will need it to anchor your soul. 

God gave me the word “move” in 2022. This word and verse found in Acts 20:22-24 became my anthem and battle cry.

The good old KJV says it this way in Acts 20:22-24, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” 

 I also love how it is phrased in The Message too. It reads like this, “But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has told me repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.”

“But that matters little.” Oh, how I love my Brother Paul. When faced with hardships, uncertainty, and even most assuredly prison, he raised his head to the heavens and declared, “That matters little.” None of these things move me! 

We will never walk through this life without facing hardship. It comes to all in one form or another. The secret is to go through it all with Jesus. 

He will be our constant companion, our peace and joy even amid heartache; he will be our light in the darkness and our strength when we are weak. 

He will go before us, behind us, and surround us like the mountains surround Jerusalem and are the Lord of Armies who fights for us. 

He will be our rock, redeemer, deliverer, fortress, hiding place, and a sure foundation on which we can place our weary feet and stand. 

He will be to us as the bright and morning star, the Lily of the Valley, our Great Shepherd, and then top it off, be our soon-coming King. 

No, this life will always be full of trouble because we live in a fallen, sin-filled world, but we have an anchor that is most sure and steadfast for our souls. Romans 8:33-39 is another such anchor that reminds us, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Thank you again, Brother Paul. 

So I ask, “What are you going through that is trying to move you away from your faith in God and His word? What is God telling you “matters little,” for He will still help you overcome and bring you to victory?” 

Perhaps, to move forward, we must first need to look back. Look back to what Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

What is the word that is anchoring your soul today? Let’s make our statement of faith together as we kick off this brand-new year.  

Let us join Brother Paul and make our stand. “That matters little,” for none of these things will move us. We are more than conquerors in Jesus! (Romans 8:37)

See you in the field, 

Susan