Christ With Coffee On Ice - my past is being used against me

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

Hey y'all ! Welcome to another Friday with CWCOI ! In this week's episode, our host, Ally Yost talks about reflection versus looking back on our past. We should focus our gaze forward on the present where God has us - not romanticize and dwell on what's already happened. Let's sit together and talk about how we can remember and reflect in a way that honors God and ourselves. "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past." Isaiah 43:18 _____________________________________________  ☆ JESUS FREAKS | OFFICIAL TRAILER ☆ : https://youtu.be/DbbJHm0WfJg?si=ErjC8Z9_TmC5VLar ☆ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON ☆ : https://patreon.com/CWCOI  If you would like to give to CWCOI and financially support the podcast, you can do so here ! ➤ https://www.paypal.me/CWCOI CWCOI MERCH ➤ https://allyyost.com _____________________________________________  Connect further with us ! TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@christwithcoffeeonice  Instagram ➤ https://instagram.com/christwithcoffeeonice _____________________________________________  Connect further with Ally !  TikTok (2M) ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@ally_yost  Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/ally_yost/  ShopMy ➤ https://shopmy.us/allyyost Pinterest ➤ https://www.pinterest.com/ally_yost1/_created/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Christ with coffee on ice. I am your host, Ali Yost. It is a joy and honor to be here with you guys. And it is such a relief to be back in the studio today. Oh my gosh. Y'all, the last few weeks, as a lot of you may know, if you've been watching the news, especially if you're based in the United States, there has just been so much going on here in California, but especially Los Angeles. And, And so these last couple weeks, there's just been a lot going on with the fires and the winds that I just haven't had the chance to be able to record here in the studio. So praise God, first and foremost, for his faithfulness in the way that he is not only protected our home, but also this studio space and this entire area. Thank you, Jesus.

But, y'all, it is, it has been tough. And I'll just kind of let you in on just how I'm feeling and how it feels here in the city of L.A. because, you know, I was talking to my mom on the phone yesterday and I was like, it's so different, like, being in the city that's directly affected by such disaster, rather than being on the other side of it where you're just simply watching it from afar. You know what I mean? Or if you're just watching it on the news, like, it really is so different, just being in the midst of it and feeling the gravity of it and just feeling how heavy it is here. So yeah, y'all, it's, there have been times where I've, like, looked at myself. and then looked at the Lord and been like, am I okay? Like, I think a lot of times I, like, think that it's an internal thing as to why I'm feeling, I don't want to say the oppression, but it just feels so heavy here. And sometimes I want to just look inward and be like, am I okay? Am I doing something wrong, Lord?

Is there an open door? I just feel like that's like my biggest fear always is that I'm doing something or I'm entertaining something and that's why I'm feeling this way. And I felt the Lord really just minister to me through my mom because I, like, brought that to my mom. And she was like, I think it's simply the environment you're in, my girl. Like, it's actually silly and naive of us to think that our environments can't affect us, even spiritually, especially spiritually. And so just with everything going on, there's just so much in the air, you know what I mean? Of just anxiety, worry. I feel so much hopelessness here

in the city. I just, I feel a lot of people feel so defeated, whether they were directly affected by these fires and lost their own homes or they know someone. I just feel like it's this big web of all of us that are connected in one way, shape, or form, and we're all being affected by it, you know? It's been really heavy and it's been hard here. And so I think it also just kind of, it just doesn't feel like we're out of it yet. I don't know how long it will really take until we see the light and feel the light. Obviously, the light is Jesus. But it's just, it's been very heavy. So I think before we really get into anything, y'all, I would love your prayer. I would love your prayer and I would love for us, even if it's just virtually. I know that we're not all standing next to

each other in a room together, but I do believe in the power of the Holy Spirit and I believe in the power of Jesus. And I believe in the power of that Holy Spirit dwelling in each and every one of us that we really can come together, even virtually, because the Spirit is so powerful that way. And I know that we can come together right now and just pray for the city of Los Angeles. And I really also have such hopes and I have such faith that the Lord will really use this for good, that all things that were meant for evil, he does turn for good. And there's all this talk and theorizing in the church right now that it's like, you know, the end times and that this is the wrath of God. And it's because of, you know, how corrupt and evil the city of Los Angeles is. And granted, I understand. I understand.

but I'm also kind of like, maybe it's too soon, y'all, to be talking like that. I just, when you live here and you see the gravity of how it's affecting people, maybe we don't talk like that right now. Maybe we just have a little bit more compassion for the people who are directly being affected by this. And we don't actually know that that's what's happening. I personally, this is just off of my own discernment and what I'm feeling, I do not believe that this was something that the Lord did. I don't believe this was something that God caused.

I believe that he obviously allowed it, but this was not of God. I just don't believe it. I believe that this was truly an act of evil that was done to our city. And if I'm also just going to throw in another POV, this is just my POV, I have seen the way that God really wants this city. Like he wants Los Angeles. He wants this city, y'all. And I've seen the way that he has used Christians in this city.

and used ministries and he's brought Christians here. I mean, Ashley and I are just one example, but he has brought such kingdom-minded people into this city. And I don't think that that was just to also burn the city down to nothing. I believe that Jesus wants this city. I believe that his heart is wanting just redemption and revival here. And I think the reason he wants it is because there is so much influence here in this city that the entire world, is Los Angeles. And, you know, all of entertainment comes, a lot of entertainment comes from this city. And it just makes sense that there's such warfare in the spirit for this city. You know, like, it's Jesus and then the enemy. And I just, I feel the way that evil and light is combating over

this city that both sides are seeing the value and the influence. And it could either be overcome and used for evil, which honestly, the enemy has had quite the foothold on this city. You know, know, like we're not going to deny that. He pretty much has run this city, but there is still light here, y'all. There is. And I've lived to see it. And the way that God has even redeemed Los Angeles for me and my heart, because if you guys know my story, I've talked about it a few times, I used to live here in Los Angeles. And I thought it was like a goner. I was like, there ain't no one who loves Jesus in this city. There's no way that revival could ever break out of here. Like, I really was in that mindset. But God's redeemed that for me.

here this time. And I've seen the way that God and Christianity has moved in Los Angeles just in this past year. And I'm like, okay, it's not dead until God says it's dead. And so I do believe that obviously the Lord allowed it. I don't understand that part yet, but I do know that Jesus is going to use this for revival. Jesus is going to use this for the good. And I really pray that people come to Christ through this devastation that yeah he just reveals himself to so many people and so I want to pray into that with you guys I want to pray into just Jesus and heaven coming down on Los Angeles in such a place of devastation and loss and grief and hopelessness because the only hope we have is Jesus and I really believe that this could be an opportunity for him to just flood this city so

thank you guys for joining me in prayer it means so much and I will lead us in it right now. Jesus, I first just want to thank you for all of my brothers and sisters that are joining me on the other side of this podcast right now to just intercede for the city of Los Angeles, God. I know that there probably are even celebrities and people of influence that you've put on all of our hearts to intercede and pray for. So God, let us never lose that faith in you that you can save these people and you can save this city. Lord, I just pray right now that through all of the devastation that has happened here in the city, God, that you just make something so beautiful out of it, Lord. And I pray that as things don't make sense to us in the natural and

things don't look right, God, that you just make it right. And we don't have to understand it. Lord, I pray that so many hearts are healed through this, through your Holy Spirit, God. I pray that people are just brought to their knees in hopelessness, but with that they bring it to you and they turn to you, God, that they go to their knees and they're like, I don't know where else to give this other than Jesus. Lord, I pray that people who felt so secure in the things that they had and the money that they had and the jobs and the homes and the houses, like everything that they felt secure in, God. I pray that you reveal to them that they should not put.

their security and their foundation in those things because look how easily these things of the world can be taken from us. So Lord, I just pray for your compassion and I pray for your love to just flood Los Angeles God. I pray that your love just overwhelms people and I pray that they feel the tug to just go to church and to be loved by you, Father. I just pray that you use this God. And I also pray that any acts of evil that are being afflicted on this city God, I just pray right. right now for your mercy, Father, that as there are more fires that are breaking out right now as we speak, Lord, that you just, your hand is over L.A. and you stop it, God. I pray that the winds stop in Jesus' name. And I also pray for rain, God, that this city needs rain. We need rain.

With all the soot and all of the toxicity that's even in the air now from the things that have burned, Lord, we just, we need rain. And we just need light right now, God. So Jesus, we just come in agreement right now in Jesus name, in your mighty name, Jesus, that we have so much faith and we know you can do it, God, to just please save this city, Lord. And I pray, I just pray for more revival. And I pray for like baptisms of the spirit and of water and in fire, Lord. I just pray for your spirit to just flood this city. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you guys for praying.

And also, if you ever feel led to continue. to pray for this city. I know that I appreciate it, but I know that even, you know, all the Christians here in this city, we really appreciate your guys' support, even if it's just simply in the spirit, where you are interceding and praying for Los Angeles, because I really want to see the city changed, and I want to see this city love Jesus, and I want to see the light of Jesus in this city so bad. And I know that God can do it. He can do anything. So thank you for letting me share that with you guys and just be completely honest and, you know, vulnerable with what's been going on here. And, you know, we're going to keep the hope and we're going to keep the faith. But yeah,

it's been a lot of just leaning on the Lord's strength through all of this. But there is something that I would love to talk about in this episode, though, because this was something that I brought to my TikTok. What we were talking about in this TikTok was reflection versus fully looking back on our past, right? And so I want to talk about. the difference between those things because obviously the Lord tells us that we're not supposed to look back. We're supposed to continue to move forward, look forward, focus on the present of where God has us. I think a lot of times too, if you haven't been saved since the beginning of time, you know, since the beginning of your life, there are things in our past that we've done,

whether that was a BC version of you. I know I struggle with that sometimes where the enemy wants to throw in all of these memories and mistakes and things that I did that were just so wrong and worldly and also just really harmful to myself. And it's very tempting and easy at times to kind of go down that rabbit hole of guilt of the things that we've done in our past. Another thing that we can do with looking back is reminiscing and romanticizing and kind of wishing that we were in an old season because the season that we're in right now might not be the easiest. You know, if you're just in a really tough season. Sometimes it's also tempting to look back at the good old days. You know, the good old days when things were simpler and easier and just kind of like placing ourselves in that reality instead

of being right here. So it really could be both sides of the spectrum where you're romanticizing and remembering the good old days or it's out of regret and guilt. But either way, God says, don't look back. Don't go back there. Okay. You're right here. But then also in the Bible, the Lord is always like, remember, remember, remember. you know so how can we remember things and i guess reflect without going back and i want to talk about that because i do think that there is a healthy balance of remembering things of our past without like dwelling in it and living in that reality so i want to talk about that today because a lot of you guys in the comments section of that tic talk we're like um i want to talk more about this can you bring this to

the podcast so here we are we are doing that and there's a story that's a story that that comes to my mind that a lot of us love to talk about. If you haven't heard it yet, yay, if you have, yay, because we're going to talk about it again. It's in Genesis, and it's the story of Lot's wife who had looked back. They were running out of their city. The Lord told them to go because it was going to be destroyed. So they're running away, and they were told to not look back, just go. And Lot's wife did indeed look back, and because of it, she was turned into a pillar of stone or a pillar of salt. And that's crazy. That's a crazy story. And it is such a classic example of looking back and why God says not to do that. Am I saying that in the year 2025, we would be turned into a pillar of stone?

No, I think right now we could just use it as something symbolic of what can happen to us when we do look back. So I think it would be really good for us to kind of cover this part of the story. It is in Genesis. So I'd love for us to all open our Bibles right now. And we're just going to read this part where they're running out of the city and Lott's wife turns to stone. Let's just read the story. The translation that I do read, if you guys are not familiar yet, is NLT. So that is the translation that I will be reading today. Okay. Yeah, let's actually start in Genesis 18, 16. So a little bit of context before we start reading is Lott, who is a righteous man living in the wicked city of Sodom was warned by angels to flee with his wife and daughters before God

destroyed the city. Whoa, this is kind of crazy. This might even be the verse that people were trying to bring up when all of these fires and stuff were happening in Los Angeles, because Los Angeles is probably considered a majority of just a wicked city. And this is an example of because of that. The Lord did destroy the city. That is so ironic, actually, that that is what we're talking about today. I didn't even put those two pieces together. But yeah, so Lot is a righteous man. He's good with God. And so because of that, God had enough mercy for him and his family to send angels to be like,

hey, you got to leave because God is actually going to destroy the city because of how wicked it is. Okay? So it says Abraham intercedes for Sodom. Then the men got up from their meal and looked out towards Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them and sent them on their way. Should I hide my plan from Abraham? The Lord asked. for Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.

I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised. So the Lord told Abraham, I have heard a great outcry for Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I am. have heard. If not, I want to know. The other men turned and headed towards Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. Abraham approached him and said, will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? Suppose you find 50 righteous people living there in the city. Will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying

the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same. Surely you wouldn't do that. Should not the judge of all the earth do what is right? And the Lord replied, if I find 50 righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake. Then Abraham spoke again. Since I have begun, let me speak further to my lord. Even though I am but dust and ashes. Suppose there are only 45 righteous people rather than 50. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five? And the Lord said, I will not destroy it if I find 45 righteous people there. Then Abraham pressed his request further. Suppose there are only 40. And the Lord replied, I will not destroy it for the sake of the 40. Please don't be angry, my lord, Abraham pleaded.

Let me speak. Suppose only 30 righteous people are found. And the Lord replied, I will not destroy it if I find 30. Then Abraham said, Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue. Suppose there are only 20. And the Lord replied, then I will not destroy it for the sake of the 20. Finally, Abraham said, Lord, please don't be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only 10 are found there. And the Lord replied, then I will not destroy it for the sake of the 10.

When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way. and Abraham returned to his tent. So now we're starting at Genesis 19. That evening, the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lott was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. My lords, he said, come to my home to wash your feet and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.

Oh no, they replied. We'll just spend the night out here in the city square. But Lot insisted, so at least they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot. Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them.

Uh, ew. So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. Please, my brothers, he begged, Don't do such a wicked thing. Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection. Stand back, they shouted.

This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he's acting like our judge. We'll treat you far worse than those other men. And they lunged toward Lott to break down the door. But the two angels reached out, pulled Lott into the house, and bolted the door. door. Then they blinded all the men young and old who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside. Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lott. Do you have any other relatives here in the city? They asked. Get them out of this place. Your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great,

it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it. So Lott rushed out to tell his daughters' fiance's quick, get out of the city. The Lord is about to destroy it. But the young men thought he was only joking. At dawn the next morning, the angels became insistent. Hurry, they said to Lot. Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now. Or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city. When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside of the city. For the Lord was merciful. When they were safely outside of the city, one of the angels ordered, run for your lives, and don't look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the mountains or you will be swept away. Oh no, my lord,

lot begged. You have been so gracious to me and saved my life. You have shown such a great kindness, but I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. So there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead. Don't you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved. All right, the angel said, I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village, but hurry. Escape to it for I can do nothing until you arrive there. This explains why that village was known as Zohar, which means little place. Lott reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon. Then the Lord reigned down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them, along with other cities and villages of the plain,

wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. But Lot's wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt. Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord's presence. He looked out across the plane toward to Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace. But God had listened to Abraham's request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plane. All right, y'all, we're going to stop right there at Genesis 1929. That's where we will stop. Listen, y'all, I was not expecting that part about those weird men wanting to have, okay, that caught me off guard.

but people have been twisted since day one, haven't we? There's just been wickedness in us since the beginning. Anyway, well, first and foremost, these are my takeaways. Obviously, the context, right? So Lot was a righteous man living in this wicked city. And because of the way that Abraham was pleading the Lord to please spare all of the righteous people in this city to not destroy them along with the wicked people. And I think with that back and forth between the Lord and Abraham. It was so sweet. Kind of reminded me of like a toddler with their parent where it's like one question after another after another. And it was the Lord's patience and kindness through that conversation with Abraham. But I think ultimately what Abraham was trying to say is like even if

there aren't a lot of righteous people, like maybe there's only a few God, would you spare them because of those righteous people? And it was the same answer every time, right? That God was like, yes, of course I would. Yes, yes, yes. So the Lord did spare lot and his family to the ones that were willing to go, you know? The command, though, in this situation was as they were fleeing, the angels made it very clear and explicitly told them not to look back at Sodom. So don't turn back. Don't stop anywhere. You need to keep going. And I think in a scenario like this where if an angel is going to tell you something like that and I would imagine they put a lot of emphasis on it. It sounded like they did. We're just going to do that, right? But the consequences of this, though, is that despite the

warning, Lott's wife looked back and as a result was transformed into a pillar of salt. So there are consequences to us not doing what the Lord advises us to do. And I think this is just another reminder that anything that the Lord advises us not to do or to do is probably for our good. It's not out of anything else other than love. The thing that I love about God's heart is he always gives us an opportunity to make the right decision. He's never quick to anger. He's never quick to like wrath or any of those things. He's actually quicker to giving us grace and always giving us an opportunity to make the right decision. He doesn't want to see us feel those consequences, you know? So it's actually out of his love that he warns us in these things, but he still gives us.

gives us the opportunity. That's when our free will comes into play, right, where we can still make the decision or not. And so it was a decision for Lot's wife, where she could have either continued to look forward or look back. And so because of her free will, she did it and was turned to a pillar of stone. So I think that this story specifically emphasizes the importance of complete obedience to God's command, complete obedience, because they were being obedient in running away. They were doing that. Lott's wife was doing that. But she wasn't. doing it in complete obedience because complete obedience would have been don't look back and keep going right she was going but she did look back which is not giving total obedience to the lord right

because he warned them of both of those things and so i think sometimes too like we can justify our good works or we can justify maybe the things that were not totally obedient in the lord oh wait this is good i think this could also be its own little like rabbit trail but i think sometimes too this is an example of like obedience and complete obedience to the Lord where there might be things that we definitely honor him in and we're obedient in but then other aspects of our life were not but we try to justify them by saying oh well but I do all these other things like Lott's wife maybe in that situation to try to justify herself would have been like yeah but I was running away like the Lord told me but she wasn't doing it in complete obedience so

sometimes the partial obedience doesn't outweigh the things that you're not doing in obedience. It's complete obedience. Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. There was a steady progression of compromise in Lot's life. He went from looking towards Sodom to pitching his tent towards Sodom to living in Sodom and losing everything when Sodom was attacked. Now back at the infamous city, Lott sat at the gate of Sodom indicating he was a civic. leader. The gate area of an ancient city was sort of a town hall where the important men of the city judged disputes and supervised those who entered and left the city. Lot himself was a righteous

man who was grieved by the sin he saw around him, but because of his deep compromise, few of his family and none of his friends were saved. Compromise destroyed his testimony. So this is the part when those men came knocking at the door. This is just a little more commentation about that part. So the men of the city, both old and young, all the people from every quarter surrounded the house, okay? There was that part of scripture. And so this actually shows that the entire city was given over to this violence and immorality and that this behavior wasn't unusual, but accepted among the men of Sodom. So now the part where Lott was pleading them to go shutting the door and saying, please just leave as they were coming to break down the door. So

this was a difficult argument for Lot to make. He and the men of Sodom had a completely different standard for deciding what was wicked and what was not. The men of Sodom thought they were pursuing pleasure and did not care that Lot thought it was wicked. This is kind of a fun clarity moment. The angels were not all knowing, like they didn't know everything. Knowing the number and location of the members of Lot's family was something that spiritual beings could easily observe, but at this point, even these angels did not know it apart from Lot's answer. Okay, this is the part I really wanted to get to. So, but his wife looked back behind him and she became a pillar of salt.

Lott's wife was turned into a pillar of salt because she looked back behind after the angels had specifically warned, warned, do not look behind you. Her looking back likely showed a love for Sodom and regret for its destruction. Let me read that again. That was good. So the reasoning for this is just us kind of putting the pieces together here. But her looking back likely showed a love for Sodom and regret for its destruction. The word looked back has the connotation of looking intently. It might possibly be rendered lagged back or maybe even returned back.

In referring to the end times, Jesus said something interesting in Luke 1732. Remember Lot's wife. In other words, as we see the end of the age, no Christian should have a heart like Lott's wife. We should not have a heart that longs for a corrupt and passing world. Oh my gosh. We should not have a heart that will in some sense regret the judgment God will bring on it. We need to look forward to our deliverance, not back at a world passing away and ripe for judgment. Y'all, wait, I didn't even think about that type of POV.

So this is kind of what we were saying in the beginning, right? Where you're like reminiscing on the good old days. Y'all, sometimes my brain wants to do that. We're like, this is me confessing. But like there were times in my life where I would go out and I would party and I would do this and that and the next. And I don't do any of that anymore. Okay? Cheerfully and joyfully, I don't do those things.

I don't deal with hangovers. I don't deal with anxiety, the regret. Honestly, when you really think about it, I was quite miserable anytime I was in an environment like that. It was too loud. It smelled bad. people were all, it's just not even fun, okay? But sometimes your brain wants to do some weird like, Uno Reverse and be like, oh, but I kind of miss it.

What? What do you mean you miss it? And it's like, that just spoke to me so much. Like, we should not ever miss or feel FOMO about things of the world that are just going to be judged by God. And they're no good for us. And so I think that was such a cool thing that was revealed even to me just now. that I think the reason that Lott's wife was looking back was because a part of her heart

actually liked that city, which apparently was completely wicked and gross, like completely wicked. There was all sorts of sin and evil and crime that was happening in that city. And a part of her was like, oh, I kind of liked it. Oh my gosh. I think that could have been a huge reason to why she was turned into a pillar of salt too, was it wasn't just simply that she was looking back. Like, yes, the Lord warned her, the angels warned her and said, don't do it. But also, it was giving a little bit of, like, a heart reveal, like, that a piece of her heart

was revealed with the way she was like, aw, but I'll miss it. Like, that's crazy. I need a sip of my coffee, guys, really quick. It's good today. I did a good job making my coffee. It's really good. I put a vanilla creamer in it this time, and it's just yummy. It's yummy.

Anyway, I got a visual. I want you guys to just envision this. Okay. So looking back also is something that can hinder our progress moving forward. And I know that because if you think of this visual of you running, okay, so imagine you're running, but you're looking back the whole time. So you're running forward, you're running this marathon, but you're looking back. First and foremost, the problem I see happening is you're not able to see where you're going. You don't know where you're going. And you're basically running blind because your eyes aren't in front of you. I'd also imagine you'd start running a little crazy and not in a straight line anymore because your head is completely turned in the wrong direction. Your balance might get more challenging if you're looking behind you. You might even trip and fall

because you don't see that there's a huge rock in front of you or a stick, whatever, right? So you're running. There's so many possibilities for disaster to happen. You might not even end up running in the right direction. The next time you look forward, you're in a completely different place. You don't know where you are because you are so busy looking back, right? And then the last thing that I see wrong with this visual is behind you has nothing to do with where you're going. If you're running in one direction, the only thing I see productive is looking in the direction of where you're going. Seeing everything behind you feels quite irrelevant. Like it's also as if you were driving a car. If you're driving a car, it just makes sense to look where you're going, right?

It doesn't make sense to drive your car while looking in the rearview mirror the whole time. Like that doesn't have a whole lot to do with you anymore. We just, we're going this way. So we've covered all of, you know, the consequences of looking back and why God advises us not to do it. It's not productive. And I think sometimes, too, even looking back, you know you're looking back and you know you're reminiscing whether it's on the good old days or it's things of regret that you wish you had done differently. It probably always leaves you feeling discouraged and sad, whether it's about your current

situation or, yeah, just regret in general. It's going to leave you discouraged. That's how you know you're doing a little too much of looking back, okay? But now, as we talk about reflection, what does that look like? Reflection should be encouraging. It should never leave us feeling regretful, anxious, wishful, or depressed. This is the fruit of looking back. Lots wife looked back not to reflect on how far she was coming, but she looked back in fear of what was happening or like, boo-hoo, I'm going to miss it. And I think reflection should leave us encouraged because it is used as a way to look at how far we've come, right? Because God does say, hey, remember and remember this. I think God does want us to remember where we've been delivered from because it is encouraging.

I think sometimes we are in our everyday, you know, obedience and do. in our thing and in relationship with God. And there's so many things that we could be forgetting. I think sometimes too, if we look too far in the future where we're like, oh, but I don't have this yet, God, and I don't have that. This is another time where reflection is really good. And we kind of touched on this a little bit in last week's episode of reflecting on where God has delivered us from and the literal blessings that we're sitting in right now. Those are great things to remember. And what's interesting is when God encourages us to remember things, it's always revolved around him and not so much about us. Like if we're going to remember and reflect, it's normally

remember how God did blank. Remember how you used to be in this type of situation, but God did blank. God showed up in blank. It's revolved around God, which I think is a really good thing to be revolved around rather than kind of just looking at ourselves too much, you know? Again, that can be in regret where you're like, gosh, I was such an idiot. I did this. I did like, maybe we just stopped looking at ourselves so much. And in reflection, it's only around the goodness of God and the faithfulness of God and just having gratitude of what he's done in our past, right? So another visual that you can use to represent reflecting is I envisioned it like getting at the top of a really big mountain or hill, like a really tough hike, okay? That same hill you were running up.

So kind of like the last visual we got, let's say you were running up the hill. That same hill, you weren't looking back as you were running, but now that you've reached the top, is it wrong to look back at the view? Of course not. I actually know that that's what the Lord would want us to do. It's healthy to look back at how far the Lord has brought us and to even feel proud of how far you've come. Like, that's a good thing. It's also just as rewarding to be able to look back at the top of that mountain and think, wow, I really came so far.

I actually didn't even realize how far this was. That's also what's so fun about reflecting is sometimes we do forget, like, how far we've come with the Lord in assistance of God. He was our helper, provider, our strength, right? We're not going to take credit for it, but it's like, dang, I really, have come so far with God. And that visual, I love. I love that visual.

Like you weren't running up this hill with your head backwards the whole time. You were like locked in with the Lord looking at Jesus saying, we're going to climb this freaking mountain God. You climb it and then you get to stand on the top with the Lord and look at like all that you've overcome. And I think that is beautiful

because that's encouraging, right? Like that in itself is also so rewarding is the view of reflection and looking at where you've come. And I think too, like just taking it day by day with the Lord. If we take it day by day with the Lord, it makes things less stressful. It feels less heavy. We're focusing on what we can handle. Reflecting is so much sweeter.

Some pieces of scripture that I found that I think would help support reflection and how it can be encouraging. It should be encouraging. Deuteronomy 327 reads, Remember the days of old. Consider the years of many generations. Isaiah 469, remember the things I have done in the past for I alone am God. Isaiah 4318, forget the former things do not dwell on the past.

So isn't that funny that in Isaiah 46 versus Isaiah 43, it kind of sounds like it's contradicting, but it's not. It's remembering the things that I have done. in the past for I alone am God, right? So that goes back to like remembering and keeping it revolved around the faithfulness and the goodness of God and what he's done in the past. Forget the former things do not dwell on the past. There is a difference there. Do you guys hear it? Deuteronomy 8-2 reads, remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these 40 years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character. Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness.

So we're not going to dwell on the wilderness. We're not going to think about how annoying it was, how scary it was at night. The bushes were really itchy as you were walking through the wilderness. Like, whatever, right? We're not going to remember all of the, like, the things that we could dwell on about the wilderness, but we will remember how the Lord got you and led you through that wilderness. Psalm 105, 5, remember the wonders he has performed his miracles and the rulings he has given. Psalm 77, 11 through 12 reads, I will remember the deeds of the Lord, yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.

When we pull back from the day-to-day busyness of our lives, we can see so many ways that the Lord has blessed us. how he has provided for us and how he has grown us and how he has brought us up out of the dark seasons. It is really important to remember these times as we move forward into new seasons of life. So that's all I have for you guys about, you know, simple reflection versus looking back and dwelling too much on our past. And I hope that it gave you peace. I hope that it gave you clarity. I really liked this episode a lot. I'm grateful for the Holy Spirit and his wisdom to relay it to you guys. And yeah, I think it's, we're going to reflect, especially because we're at the beginning

of this year, right? Reflection is really healthy and it's good. But we're not going to dwell on the mistakes and the things that were just awful of the past. God wants us to have fresh hope today. And he wants us to remember all the ways that he got us out of dark times to give us hope in situations that we might be facing right now or situations. that we would face in the future, that he will always show up for us. And that is something we need to always remember is just the faithfulness of God and how much he loves us. And he will never

forsake us or leave us. Well, I love you guys. Thanks for hanging out with me for another Friday. And can we actually do something cool this week, guys? Until I see you next Friday, can we do something cool? I want y'all to show somebody how cool Jesus is. Be like so extra kind to someone or multiple people and I pray that in that we also give glory to God and we give credit to the one who gives us this kindness and grace and mercy to give others. I love y'all. I'm so proud of you and I will see you next week. Bye. Are some of y'all still listening? Okay, if you're still here, that means you're a real one, which is why I'm about to share this with you. If you've already caught up on all the episodes so far and you don't want to wait until next Friday for a new one, I have really good

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