But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow,
and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62 NKJV
Back - Strong’s Lexicon Greek 3694 - Backwards
Fit - Strong’s Lexicon Greek 2111 - Suitable, Useful
…He who plows should plow in hope….
1 Corinthians 9:10 NKJV
Hope - Strong’s Lexicon Greek 1680 - expectation, trust, confidence
Plow - Dictionary - turn up the earth i.e. BREAK GROUND
Hope deferred [postponed] makes the heart sick,
but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12 NKJV
We are instructed to plow in hope, for hope is a feeling of expectation, and nothing can break through our situations more than expectant hope. Without hope, what do we have? Why bother? Hopelessness consumes us in the absence of hope, causing one to become immobile. Discouraged, we stop. Disheartened, we look back. Depression creeps in, until despair defeats us. Cloud formations of worry, regret, blame, shame, accusation, guilt, and swirls of unforgiveness descend. Despondency settles around us. What trailed behind us shouts: Surrender! Turn back! Quit! It’s too hard! Things will never change! However, in choosing to hope, we can plow ahead. The cloud formations we once agreed with are replaced by the covering of the Lord. His cloud will lead us to glory!
Honestly, hope is hard; especially, in the midst of the shouting.
When we choose to look back; unwittingly, we are trusting in our past. We turn to what is familiar, and not to the hope we have in Christ Jesus - our hope of glory. No wonder Jesus said, “No one having put his hand to the plow, and looking back (backwards), is fit (useful) for the kingdom of God.” How can we plow - break ground - if we choose to look back? Breaking ground is a forward motion.
Where is your focus? What tempts your gaze, nagging you to look back?
I asked the Lord what has caught my gaze deflecting my walk in Him. I hesitate to share the following. I doubted it fit, but I will trust His lead. God revealed that my struggle with body image still demands my attention at times. I have to say, such a fight has been with me since a young age, and being on this side of twenty-nine has added to my unrest. At times, I have allowed the magazine covers to remind me of what I am not; instead of looking to God’s Word proclaiming who I am. God doesn’t love me less when there is more of me to love; however, the cloud of self-loathing appears at the memories of childhood insults. As the past shouts, “Remember!” The humiliation of hurtful remarks flood my memory, enticing me to turn back and agree with the clamor of the days gone by. I feel less when I listen to the past. I hear the laughter of children fill the school bus when the boy in the back yells out, “She looks like a white elephant!” on the first, and only day, I wore my newly gifted white rain coat with the pink stripe. There’s the memory of the sales clerk yelling across the department store, “I need size 14 and 1/2 Chubbette,” as she worked to fill my order. Or envisioning myself standing in front of my bedroom mirror, hating what I saw, writing fat across the belly of my pants, and then trying to explain it to my mom. Moments like the school weigh-ins, when the whole class heard the nurse shouting my weight, enveloped me in a shroud of shame. Not to mention my Aunt that used to pinch my face and say, “Such a pretty face, if only you would lose some weight.” UGH! These occasions acted as a catalyst for a life-long pursuit of the perfect body. An image was fabricated, resulting in anorexia as a teen. A mind-set was established. I believed my weight dictated my value. Uncomfortable within my own skin, a battle ensued. Still, even today, my gaze is distracted by the numbers on the scale. Yes, I do need to take care of myself; however, am I less because I weigh more? I know the correct answer, but do I believe it? (Some time ago, I wrote a woman’s Bible study to encourage a young woman in her true beauty. Maybe, I should read it?)
What about you? What has caught your gaze? What defeat is familiar to you - calling you back into its wayward embrace? A frustration deeply embedded; or maybe, newly established?
Over time, I have come to the realization that there is no hope in the past. The past is the past. I need to let it go. To set one’s self free from the past takes a moment of surrender. Let the moment be now. Stop looking back, plow forward, and hold on to hope. Anticipate what lies ahead. Trust God to lead you as you lock eyes with Him - the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
The visual the Lord gave me regarding the distractions that call out to us was one of tin cans tied to a car bumper. Everywhere you go, the tin cans make noise, seeking attention - UNTIL - you cut them off. Silence the enemy. CUT HIM OFF! Plow forward in the Lord. Determine to be useful for the Kingdom of God!
In choosing to plow ahead, the cloud formation we once knew is blown away by the glory of the Lord. Follow the lead of the cloud of the Lord. As we focus on Him; He will make our path straight.
HAVE HOPE!
Prayer
Father, I repent for looking back. I long to keep my hands to the plow moving forward in You. I confess, noises - distractions of the past, have caught my gaze, pulling me off course. In Jesus Name, I sever all constraints of the past, and silence the noise of the enemy. I release myself from the subjugation of _______________.
I forgive all those who have offended me. Forgive me Lord for harboring any offense against them. I trust in You Lord to redeem each memory (old and new), as I surrender them into Your hands.
As I symbolically cover these memories of times past by the shed blood of Jesus, the bellowing of the enemy is silenced. In Christ, I am set free from the rattling of the accuser. I am empowered by God to look ahead no longer turning to seek the past. Today, in the Name of Jesus, I declare the desire to look back has been broken by the power of the Holy One. The cloud of hopelessness lifted. For God is my glory and the lifter of my head.
In this moment, the Lord is strengthening me to proceed forward again. I rise confidently in the character of God, and choose to place my hands upon the plow. Looking ahead, I will move forward with great expectation one step at a time. My hope is no longer deferred nor my heart sick. I step forward in obedience, trusting God to redeem my past for the display of His splendor.
In You, Lord, I have HOPE and the determination to move on.
As I plow, row by row throughout this life, may the tilled ground yield a harvest of hope.
HOPE ETERNAL! For the glory of God!
Amen
Praise be to God! After I prayed through this myself regarding body image, I felt as light as a feather even though the numbers on the scale did not change. To God be the glory!
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