The Rear-View Mirror

I had to go on a bit of a road trip today. The sun was bright and the leaves were absolutely beautiful. I had my praise and worship music in and I was singing along – totally enjoying the moment. All of a sudden this changed! I had entered into a section of road that was under construction and the bright sun hi-lighted all of the road makings making it impossible to identify which lane was which. I quickly found myself looking around for cars and fortunately the traffic was light. But...when I looked into my rear-view mirror something interesting caught my attention – the lines could be viewed perfectly! I glanced ahead again and they still looked all mixed up as the sun hi-lighted the areas where the workers had painted over the old markings, making them seem real again. As long as I glanced into my rear-view mirror I could keep my car in my lane of traffic – I could see the way.

After I drove out of the construction area I was thinking about what had just happened and was reminded about a book I have just finished, The Sacred Romance, by Brent Curtis and John Eldridge. This book describes the relationship God desires to have with each of us. The authors speak of life being a journey and referenced what we need to take on that journey. The three main things we need are faith, hope and love. The authors often quoted from Pilgrim’s Progress and, at one point, described when Pilgrim lay in despair because he had forgotten – forgotten how he had overcome pain, hardship, terror and loneliness. “Hopeful” urged Pilgrim to remember, both all he had been through as well as the assurance he has from God who called him on the journey. The authors suggest that “life on the road requires recollection of our Lord’s past deeds on our behalf and His promise of continued faithfulness to us. We will need courage and patience and those are strengthened by remembering. We will need memory, which is to say, we will need faith. Faith looks back and draws courage; hope looks ahead and keeps desire alive.” Faith looks back...Faith remembers! Romans 5:3-4 “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

So, on the road of life, when the way becomes blurred and not totally clear, we need to look in the rear-view mirror in faith, remembering all that God has brought us through and all of His precious promises to us. As we draw courage from that we can then look ahead again – to the often-times still blurred lines – and know where we are to go, trusting God all the while – for He IS trustworthy!