My last post talked about living somewhere other than “in the moment”. While it is important to stay focused on where we currently are, we sometimes get so preoccupied trying to keep up with our task list that we fail to do two important things. One of those is to looking back.
The other is looking forward. Sometimes we are so caught up in the moment we “can’t see the forest for the trees”. We are so busy looking down at the path in front of us that we never bother to look up to see what’s coming.
After Samuel spent some time reminding the Israelites of their past (1 Samuel 12:6-13). Right after that, he tells them to look at what was coming next.
“Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord’s commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the Lord as your God. But if you rebel against the Lord’s commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.
“Now stand here and see the great thing the Lord is about to do. 1 Samuel 12:14-16 (NLT)
Samuel made it pretty clear. He warned the Israelites to pay attention in verses 14 and 15. He warned them that God had some specific things He required of them. He warned them that failure to obey would bring disaster on them. He asked them to look forward and decide right then how they would respond to God.
Then, just like in verse 7, he told them to stand still and look at what God would do. That verse is perfect for me. I don’t often stand still and watch God work. Whenever I do, I’m amazed…but I don’t do it enough.
So, after we have looked back at where we have come from, I think it is important to look forward to where God is so that we can follow Him. We need to pay attention to what God is doing in our own lives, the lives of our families and churches and in our communities. Why? So that we can see what God is doing and join in with Him. So that we can work with Him and not against Him. So that we don’t look back ten years later and think, “Boy, I missed that one”.
