During my worship drive home from an appointment, I suddenly found myself in a slow-moving sandwich. A huge cemi-truck in front of me and a tiny slow-moving car behind me, and there I remained for the majority of my drive. We've all been there as we realize that twenty cars piled up behind the slow-moving car are going to pass him while you sit there helpless until they all pass you too. As I began to watch the traffic behind me, I suddenly realized I was watching behind me more than in front of me. "Whew! I better be careful. That's not safe.", I thought to myself. Then I realized just how true that statement was. Often times when I get stuck in situation where I feel trapped, I panic and start looking for a way out. In front of me is something SO big that I can't see around it, so I start looking behind me and forget to even look forward. I remember an illustration I heard in Sunday school once...your rear view mirror is smaller than your windshield because you're supposed to spend the majority of your time looking forward- not behind. Can you imagine if your windshield was the size of your rear view mirror and your rear view mirror the size of your windshield? I imagine there would be a lot more accidents.
Vines dictionary defines "Perseverance" as to stay at or with, to tarry still, still to abide, to continue, remain.I love how God uses every day things to remind me to persevere. Perseverance is to remain where I am, under the load that I feel and to not seek a way out from under it. Perseverance is to know that my future is SO big I can't see around it, but My God is bigger and He will make a way. Looking in the past can be a dangerous place to live both literally and figuratively.
Philippians 3:13, "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,"
