I remember looking at the Rocky Mountains in my rear view mirror as I left Colorado, after visiting my friend for Spring break. It was a trip of healing. The last time I saw those mountains I hoped I never had to see them again. You see those mountains were what I saw every morning from the balcony of our apartment when we lived in Colorado.

For a lot of people mountains are where they feel God. For me the mountains were a representation of a hard season. Mountain time moments are what we all speak of. The breath taking view…. For me the mountains were resentment, anger, hurt….

As I drove away seeing them in the rear view mirror there was no more pain. There was healing. I heard God say, “to move forward you have to stop looking in the rear view mirror”. I thought I understood that day what it meant to move on… But here I sit hearing the Holy Spirit telling me again “stop looking in the rear view mirror. You are going to crash because you are so focused on what is behind you that you do not see what is in front of you”.

Have you ever been there? A place where you are not just glancing at the rear view mirror to see if it is safe to back up or switch lanes but staring, focusing so much on what is behind you that you forget to look forward and…… CRASH……

I have more times that I care to count the last few years ago. I lost focus on where God was leading me that I ended up burnt out, angry, neglecting my health, not a joyful person. Looking to figure out how to fix the past, the only way you can do that is if you look forward. To not let things in the past steal from the joy of today.

Maybe you are where I am talking about…. Maybe you have CRASHED, feeling totaled, not repairable…. Oh friend if I could look you straight in the eyes I would say to you, “Jesus can fix the totaled car. He is asking you to look forward he is waiting for you. He just wants your gaze. He doesn’t see broken beyond repair. He sees redemption, he sees a saint (if you are a follower of Christ).”

Jesus has never looked in the rear view mirror wondering if it was worth it. He is not looking back thinking why God? HE is looking forward to knowing his death on the cross made it so we could also look forward, to the Kingdom to come.

I do not know where you are this season. I do know from experience looking forward is so much better than looking back. Only look back to see how far you have come. A quick check, then fix your gaze forward. You are going to move forward safely with your gaze fixed ahead.