Looking Back, Looking up, and Looking Forward - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2024

When Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.
Exodus 14:10

Looking Back, Looking up, and Looking Forward
As we approach the close of another year, it is common to look behind us at what is past. The historical view is not always encouraging though! It may be that, like the children of Israel, you look back and become afraid. Perhaps over the past year financial troubles have increased or friendships have dissolved. Perhaps your health is failing, your family is breaking, or your own personal failures have brought you low. Fear builds within our hearts because the prospect of a new year does not include any answers. When we interpret our future based on our past, fear and uncertainty are often the result.

When Israel felt this kind of fear, two instructions were helpful for them. First, Moses said, "Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord" (v. 13). At the end of the year we tend to pause and look back. But Moses told the people to pause and look up! It is good to take a moment to be still, but in that moment let us encourage each other to remember that the Lord knows where we are. He has not forgotten us, and He knows what He is about to do. He has a plan for salvation and rescue.

Second, the Lord Himself said, "Tell the children of Israel to go forward" (v. 15). God who brought the people out of Egypt would not abandon them in the wilderness. When we stand still in the present moment, we might turn to consider the past and find much that causes us to be afraid. But the Lord would like us to turn back around and face the future. The obstacles ahead may appear insurmountable, but He already knows about them. We can go forward into a new year with purpose of heart as we trust God's promises, confident that He already knows the paths we will take.

Stephen Campbell