The Past is a Fine Place to Visit, But You Can't Live There #2020Vision
“What He is trying to show me, won’t be shown where He has removed me.”
As I set my sights on the new year, my only direction is forward. We’re entering the new decade, and there’s absolutely no looking back. The year 2010 brought us the resurgence of EDM and dubstep, ObamaCare was thankfully passed, women were finally allowed in the submarines by the Navy… after 102 years, the Celtics and Lakers reminded us of Magic in Larry in Game 7, and Kanye West was the old Kanye with G.O.O.D Friday blessings. Oh, what a time to be alive. And, yet, that doesn’t even encompass the magnitude of that year, and the entire decade in review.
So much has happened in these past ten years, that it’s only natural to reminisce on the pits and peaks of the early-mid 2000’s. Personally, I know I am not the same person I was ten years ago, let alone ten days ago. I thank God for constant growth and hindsight, whilst also revealing new paths and ordering my footsteps in His right direction. I remind myself that what He is trying to show me, won’t be shown where He has removed me.
I thank God for always being a God of His promises. I thank Him for always being a faithful and timely God, for our God is never a God of confusion. I think about the times where I have been met with a fork in the road, and by literary sense I want to take the road less traveled, of course. Ultimately, God plays my hand. I learned that the times I am met with confusion or uncertainty, that it’s not a prescription from the Lord. Our secular worries don’t hold weight in comparison to our destiny.
Thank you Lord for providing me with such a divine life, one full of rich opportunities. Not every moment in this decade has been the most favorable. The choice of free will is evident, and circumstances happen, in and out of our control. The outcome, however, is what brings my faith to the alter each time. Every obstacle is an opportunity for a testimony. Aside from a return on His investment (us), God deserves our worship and praise. Like any relationship, our relationship with the Lord must be symbiotic. Showing Him the love and adoration that He deserves, even helps US discover the best in each situation.
You’re an amazing God, and you see so much for me, even when I don’t see it for myself. Five year plan, ten year plan - how many of us are actively reviewing the decade with a rubric of what we planned for ourselves? The funniest thing you can tell God are your plans. He ordains them, He orders them, He makes them happen. Without divine word, or innate awareness, we don’t always realize God is working through us, in present time. God presents us with the opportunity for living water to flow through us, and the caveat is well within our reach.
John 7:38 (ESV) reads:
“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
Similarly, in NIV:
38 “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
Sometimes it’s simple belief - the Faith of a mustard seed - that sustains us. At times, what I ordered for myself was not what God ordered for me, and He had no plans of paying that bill. Naturally, our eyes can be bigger than our stomachs. When we have the crazy Faith that what God can do isn’t limited to the testimonies that we have seen or heard, we allow Him to work His extraordinary wonders. Putting a cap on the capabilities of God does a disservice to His wondrous ways, and in turn, limits our expectations for our very existence.
The past is a fine place to visit, but in comparison to what’s ahead, there isn’t a home for me there. In my year in review, I want to thank God for this journey. I pray for the winding path, and those whom continued and exited along the way. I pray that the new decade multiplies our testimonies with favor and blessings, and clarity is delivered in abundance. May the Lord reveal to all of us what our eyes cannot see, and our ears cannot hear. May He be in front of us, around us, and behind us as we close the book on this decade. Amen.