“Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success.”
— C S Lewis
Do you choose a word for the year? I tried it a few years ago, and my word was HOPE. It was a desire that there was more to life than the struggle I was facing. The last couple of years I have been trying to overcome fear of waiting for the other shoe to drop by putting my EXPECTATION in God. This year I want to move FORWARD by leaving the past behind and moving with hope not dread.
Put Off the Old Man
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
(Ephesians 4:22-24)
First, I have to remember to put on the new man daily by renewing my mind. It is easy to fall back into old habits or let old fears haunt us, or maybe even hunt us. So, let’s put on the armor of God (Phil. 6) and the mind of Christ (Phil. 2). It’s the only way to fight because the battlefield starts in our minds.
Put Away the Past
Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
(Isaiah 43:18-19)
Next, the way to move forward is to stop looking to the past. In a recent movie, a character said that people think that if they keep working harder that things will change when what they really need is to find a new way. God is always working in new ways because He wants us to trust Him and not depend on a process or procedure. He also wants us to grow, which requires change. It’s not comfortable, but the end result is worth it.
Put a Foot Forward
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 3:13-14)
Then, I have to let go of what I thought should have been so that I can reach toward what God has for me. I have to step forward instead of standing still if I want to make any progress. An object at rest will remain at rest until something moves it forward. I need to make the leap of faith in the right direction and take the next right step.
Put On Hope
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
(Romans 15:13)
Finally, I have to remember that I have hope of a better tomorrow because God is in control. It won’t be a bed of roses all of the time because even roses have thorns, but I have hope because of the Holy Spirit within me.
Like Paul, I don’t claim to have all the answers or have reached the goal, but I keep trying. I’m a work in progress. And that’s all He asks of us. So, one step forward and then another. I don’t know about tomorrow, but I know who holds tomorrow, and that is all that matters.
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Shine on, Linda. Great encouragement. O how we forget, O how the past is such an allure!
Hope. Incidentally that is the subject for my next blog.
Girl, how you are loved!
Awesome word, Linda!