Look forward... Not behind!

I was not a very good bicyclist as a young boy.  I think mainly because I would get easily distracted, and take my eyes off where I was going.  Yes, on more than one occasion I recall looking behind me while riding my bike  trying to talk to friends...only to swerve off to the side and slam head first into a parked vehicle! Ouch!  Hurt my spleen and got a hernia, etc. (was in hospital for days.) Friends it was  bad enough that happened once...  I did it again only months later... same scenario, this time it wasn't a parked vehicle I slammed  into with my bike...it was a flag pole! (I "face planted" into! ) Ouch! Embarrassing! I still have a bump on my forehead from that to this very day!  I remember having a "golf ball sized bump" and literally seeing stars after that little accident!  I think the moral of this little story is when you are riding your bike...don't look back!  You know the Bible says a little something about looking back when you are moving ahead.  Let's take a look at Philippians 3:13-14 "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."   I think the first thing for us to notice is  that Paul is going somewhere, he has a purpose and direction! He has a goal, not a self-seeking goal, a goal that was hand selected by God for Paul!  The end result of this goal is to bring glory to God by making Paul more like Christ!  Okay, now that we get that let's find out what is so wrong with looking back? First off, it slows us down,  secondly, it takes our eyes off of where we are going so we naturally will get off track, and veer off the straight and narrow!  Friends, as believers in Christ God has equipped each of us with unique gifts that He wants to use for His service! He has a plan and direction for each of our lives!  Can I just take a second to say  no  matter where you are tonight, what you've gone through in this life...God loves you and is reaching out to you right now!  He wants to bless your life, restore what has been lost or stollen and use you for great and mighty works! How do we get to be used by God?  We follow Him!  He is our good shepherd and he leads us step by step!  Perhaps your like me riding a bike...you start to take a few steps following Him, then you look back, second guessing yourself or believing that because of your past mistakes God doesn't want to use you?  Friends, those are lies from the enemy trying to hold you back!  Consider for a moment, that a driving horse, wears "blinders" on his headstall to keep him focused on his task at hand, in other words, to keep him from being distracted from outside interferences! We also need to be focused on moving forward, following our father, not being distracted with the temptations, or our past failures, etc. In the Gospel of Luke chapter 9:62 "Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Thanks for letting me share, God bless! Randy Young