Why Looking Back Matters

Welcome to my favorite week of the year – this in between one, which as we all know is no different than any of the rest of our weeks – days and hours stacked together seamlessly. And yet it is. In a life of calendars and schedules, activities and appointments, this week is different. It slows and quiets just a bit. Perhaps only the tiniest fraction for some of us, but still it does. It’s different.

I love that.

The company has gone and the parties are mostly over. In my home it feels as if the year holds just a little more margin for us to settle, to take a deep breath, to exhale.

Do you feel that? I hope you do.

This slow(er) is important, the deeper breaths valuable. It’s a time where I can think a little more clearly, read a little more carefully – both quietly and aloud. We play gifted games as a family. Watch movies. Rest.

And the thinking may be my favorite.

There is a popular quote that runs circles around the web – “Don’t look back. You aren’t going that way.” You’ve seen it, no? Its wisdom has been attributed to a host of notables, scripted in a dozen fancy fonts with bold graphics intended to hit a nerve. 

I’m sure I’ve nodded my head at this quote a few times. Yes. Definitely not going that way.

But more recently I have wondered if that wisdom is really sound. Certainly there is value in learning from the past. What do we risk when we neglect the remembering that comes with a healthy glance in the rear-view?

If we are people of the Word, people who stand squarely on the Truth we read and sang of last week, then perhaps a backward glance means more than we realize. Because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. His name was called Immanuel, God with us. We know Him as the one who chose to be near, chose the cross for our redemption. He is preparing a place for us and left us a Comforter in His stead, a Helper who dwells in us and with us (John 14:16-17). We believe that, right? And if so, shouldn’t that Truth be stamped all over our days? 

The conversations spurred at the close of December are delightful. I love hearing the hope of a New Year make its way into our thoughts and out our lips. But what if it could be more than simply fodder for good exchange, paltry small talk to pass time and discomfort at awkward parties? What if it could be more fruitful than that? 

In remembering, reflecting over the past, we are choosing to see. With a heart bent on revering Christ, we can brave a backward glance at the good and the bad with eyes to see Him using it all. What if we used the rearview to hunt for Him from a different perspective, to search for His fingerprints over all of it? 

When we intentionally process the reality of our often choppy growth in our days and weeks, we are regarding His sovereignty. In faith we know He was in the car on that day, in the hospital room on that day, on the chair beside us during that conversation. We believe that He went before us, that He hemmed us in and bottled numerous tears. I don’t know about you but in the clamor for all that is shiny and new I don’t want to tromp right past that truth. Sure we’ll go there, but why not pause first to see Him, thank Him, as Lord over all we just walked though.

What if this small form of intentionality, this healthy reflection, becomes our means of testifying to His goodness, to the gospel of His grace as Paul says (Acts 20:24). What if tracing our fingers along the path of His provision in the last 52 weeks helps us bear witness to protection and kindness we never even noticed? Is it possible that sitting with the summation of months, years, could tell a story we barely saw forming, a tapestry we never knew He was weaving?

I don’t want to miss it, friend. I want to remember the stories of His goodness, pause to reflect longer on His faithfulness and take time to thank Him for all of it.

Join me? Below are 10 questions for brave remembering. And a simple prayer. Sit with them. Ask them of yourself and, perhaps, share them with others. Let’s take time to reflect on His goodness in the past year, the past decade. Let’s choose to see His hand in all of it and let that fuel our faith to trust Him more in the days and decades ahead.

Questions for Reflecting

• If you had to pick a word for 2019, in retrospect, what would it be? 
• What surprised you in the past year?
• What did you learn?
• How were you stretched in 2019?
• Who helped you?
• What delighted you?
• What did you pray about most?
• Where did you see His grace?
• What strengthened your faith?
• What specific ways did you see God’s faithfulness?

God, Your grace is dynamic, prolific, expansive. You power is unfathomable and Your nearness astounds. We cringe at all the ways we have failed to notice You. Like an ungrateful toddler, we have barged right past Your goodness, thrown tantrums in the midst of it, lived eyes wide shut, wholly unaware of Your tender mercy, Your nearness here. Soften us to see it, Lord, to see You. Remind us who You are throughout all of eternity and in the midst of our days, weeks, years. It’s more that our minds can contain, but in looking back over a year, over a decade, let us catch a glimpse of You there.

Strengthen us for the unknown and unexpected ahead. Steady our gaze. Teach us to look for You as we look forward. You are the unchanging One. Thank you for anchoring us gently, faithfully. Help us to live this truth bravely, that we may bring You glory with all of our days. Amen.