Don’t Live in the Past

READ

“But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” Genesis 19:26 NIV

THINK

In December 2023, my family experienced something we never imagined. Our house burned down. During that season, I would wake up early each morning and sit outside alone with Jesus. There were days when I felt completely overwhelmed by the task ahead of us: tearing down what remained of our home and rebuilding from the ground up. I thought about everything we had lost, the memories we had made there and how our children grew up within those walls. Sometimes I would simply sit with Jesus without saying a word.

One morning, the image of Lot’s wife came to my mind. I saw her looking back and becoming a pillar of salt. I knew God was speaking to my heart. I felt Him saying, “Don't look back. I have so much more for you ahead.”

How often do we do the same thing? We keep looking back at painful moments, replaying them over and over. We ask ourselves, Why did this happen? What if...? I should have... I could have… Before we realize it, we can start living in the past. I'm not saying we should never look back. Sometimes we need to, but we need to do it with God's perspective.

ACT

We can ask: What is God showing me through this? Is there someone I need to forgive or seek reconciliation with? What is God teaching me? Do I need to receive His forgiveness and let go of regret or shame? Looking back can be helpful when it leads to healing, wisdom, and growth. But when we live there, it can become a place of bondage. That morning, God reminded me that I could not change what had happened. But I could choose where I would look next. I could look back, or I could look to Him.

Don’t live in the past! Learn from it. Let God heal it. Give Him your regrets, your questions, and your pain…but don’t build your home there. Look ahead with hope and look up to the Savior who paid the highest price so that you could walk in freedom and experience the abundant life He came to give you.