Looking in the rearview mirror....

My drive to work twice a week can be quite an adventure.  I have to travel 3 of the busiest highway and interstate systems in this part of the state.  Quite often I find myself constantly checking my rearview mirror.  From "tailgaters" to 18-wheelers, I try and make myself comfortable with what is behind and around me at all times.  Sometimes I get a little too focused on what is in the mirror as opposed to staying focused on what is front of me.  And it has occurred to me lately that that is exactly my problem in life.   Satan is a sneaky little creature who knows how to throw things up from the past and make us stumble on our forward movements.  This is what I struggle with, some days more than others.  Being reminded of the things of the past and feeling the shame and guilt that was cleaned from my slate when I died to self and invited Christ to live inside of me.  When we confess our sins then God is quick to forgive and forget.  But in our state of minds sometimes, we have a tendency to struggle with shameful decisions and past misjudgements.  I came across this great paragraph this morning in "Journey", a daily devotional magazine:

"Do not swim around in the muck and the mire of condemnation for your sin. If you do, the implication is that Christ's death on the cross was not sufficient for your sins. God knew you would sin, He paid for it, and when you confess it, He has chosen to "forget" it."

And then there is this verse that comes to mind:

Philippians 3:13-14

¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

 

So as I struggle with the things that Satan wants me to remember and Christ wants me to know I'm forgiven of, I will remember the analogy of looking in my rearview mirror as I drive down the interstate.  Because when I get too focused on what is behind me, then it can have terrible consequences when I don't focus on what is in store for me ahead.