Nostalgia gives us all the feels and usually in the sweetest way. But, can yearning for the past keep us from pursuing God's calling for our life? Being invested in a past that no longer fits who we are is destructive to who we are suppose to become. We can conjure up any number of reasons why we are resistant to change. For some of us resistance to change is born out of fear, complacency, a sense of inadequacy, or even procrastination, but what it really boils down to is our disobedience to God. I know that sounds harsh, but it's the truth. Fighting against the change that God has ordained in your life is simply rebellion. We may not do it intentionally or deliberately, but in our resistance lies real consequences that can make kingdom size differences in our lives.
Most of us are creatures of habit. Even if they are bad habits, we are reluctant to let go of what is comfortable and familiar. We spend years in unhealthy relationships, dead end jobs, and habits that make us absolutely miserable. Even when God tries to remove us from a situation or urges us to release whatever it is that is blocking us from our blessing , we react in fear instead of faith. So we cling to what enables us to stay in the comfort of our tiny box. Psalm 18:19, tells us that isn't what God planned for us , scripture tell us, "He brought me out into a spacious place, he rescued me because he delighted in me." This verse should excite you! The word spacious should reminds us of the vast plan and possibilities that God has in store for us because he delights in us. The Lord is the perfect potter and we are the clay. We can rest assure God is molding us into His masterpiece, but we have to be moldable.
Sometimes it isn't habits holding us back, but a past that keeps us in chains. Although God has created in us a new life, the old life we shed is always crouching in the background, begging us to come back, distorting our memories to appear in a way that is not accurate. When this happens the vision that God has placed in our hearts becomes blurred and suddenly we can's clearly see God's intended will for our life. God rescued us from an old way of living, but if we refuse to shed the past, it becomes a heavy weight drapped around our neck that keeps us looking down instead of up to God!
Lot's wife learned the hard way about looking back. When Lot and his family were leaving the wicked city of Sodom, they were told to flee for their lives and to not look back. As they were running, Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. She was stopped in her tracks and unable to move forward all because the temptation to look back was stronger than her will to obey God. I feel bad for this woman each time I read this section of Genesis. I don't believe she intended to disobey God. I think her curosity got the better of her and she looked back probably in disbelief. Who hasn't been the victim of curiosity at one time or another? Disobedience even when it's from curiousity can have lasting consequences that not only affect us personally, but those around us. Lot lost a wife and his children lost a mother.
The city was on fire and burning, what was there to really look at? What was so interesting about a wicked city that was being destroyed? We should ask ourselves when we are tempted to get stuck in the past, "What was so wonderful about a life that was void of the assurance of Christ?" Absolutley nothing. It's the same with holding on to shame or guilt. Christ died for our sins, and has given us grace. When we refuse to let go of these feelings that keep us from God's will then we are not accepting the full gift of our salvation. If we resist God's call for change we become like Lot's wife, unable to move forward, forsaking our purpose and allowing our life to become ineffective in the kigdom of Christ. Is there anything sadder than an ineffective Christian who is fully equipped to do wonderful works, but is to afraid to do them?
Don't allow yourself to evolve into a pillar of salt, but be the salt of the earth.
