Don’t Look Back - Devotional by Katy Huth Jones

“One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

Grief is more than losing a loved one. We grieve the loss of anything that was important to us, including a home, a career, or our health. In the space of a few months, I lost my mother, then my music career, my home of 24 years, and what was left of my health. I had to move from a small town where I knew everyone to a large city where no one knew me or cared that I could no longer play the flute and piccolo in a symphony because I didn’t have the breath or the stamina. Nor would they know the places I held in my heart so fondly, or meet the loving parents I was privileged to live close to for so long.

During the dark months that followed these devastating losses, God patiently taught me not to look back. My previous life was gone forever. Now I look forward, toward the end of my journey and what awaits there, where my focus should have been all along. Nothing we do or have in this life lasts forever; only our soul is eternal.

If we keep that one truth in mind, it will keep us from looking back with regret. That way we can eagerly press forward toward the finish line.

Don’t let grief stagnate you. The best is yet to come. Believe it.

Lord, forgive me for looking back with longing at the past instead of keeping my eyes on the finish line. Give me the strength and discipline to persevere in my walk with you, until my very last step. Amen.

By Katy Huth Jones
Used by Permission