Don’t Look Back by Lisa Burkhardt Worley, D.Min.
A new year represents looking forward with anticipation about what is to come. It can represent a new start, new ideas, and the hope of new blessings from God. However, sometimes we slip back into the past, don’t we? We start thinking about past hurts, dysfunction, and past injustice, and that can move us into a depressed state.
This week, I was reading in Genesis 19 about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah due to the area’s grievous sin. God graciously saved Lot’s wife and his family, but told them as they were about to escape the raining sulfur and fire, “Flee for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stop anywhere in the surrounding area! Escape to the hills, or else you’ll be swept away!”
However, not everyone listened. Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.
Nowadays, we won’t turn into a pillar of salt when we look back, but we may turn into a pillar of salty tears. When we dwell on past trials, our joy can quickly turn to sadness, and we are blinded to the hope that is ahead. That is why it is important to only look back as a testimony of how far the LORD has brought us. Our rescue story from past dysfunction glorifies God.
The Apostle Paul encouraged us to forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead (Phil 3:13). In Philippians 3:14, Paul says, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Jesus gave some harsher words about this concept when he said, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Jesus is saying that following Him requires forward thinking. We need to live in victory, His joy, and His peace as we represent Him. We should be excited about what lies ahead, not tormented by our histories.
So, in 2026, let’s keep our eyes on the path ahead and ask the LORD to help us stay focused on the goal of serving Him with His strength and with His hope. That mindset will draw others to faith.
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