Rearview Mirror

This picture was shot as I was stopped in traffic one evening. I was looking forward and seeing the sky getting darker, the evening was fast approaching and another busy day was coming to an end. I looked to check my rearview mirror and I saw this beautiful sunset!

I started thinking about life and how crazy and overwhelming it can get. How the days ahead can be scary, foreboding, uncertain or just unknown, but when we pause to look back we can see the faithfulness of God. It is a good thing to stop and remember what God has been doing every once in a while. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 78:1 “Give ear, O my people, to my teachings; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!” As he begins to recount the story of the Israelites, not in a superficial soft way, but in the reality that God did good things for us, but we messed it up because of our sin. Sin can be defined as “the human propensity to mess things up!” or “missing the mark.”

However, looking back and seeing the truth of their sinfulness wasn’t the end of the story, he concludes the Psalm with “With upright heart He shepherded them and guided them with His skillful hand.” He looks back and sees how God orchestrated their history, in spite of their sinfulness, to bring about their good. God is far more concerned about our holiness and our welfare then we realize (Romans 8:28).

As I look back even on this past weekend I am so thankful to see the beauty of God shining brightly. Spending quality time with my youth group, seeing Ari, Kayla, and Tim baptized and share their unique testimonies. To celebrate all day with our church. And when I thought all the joy and celebration was coming to an end, I received an email Monday morning saying God had brought in 95% of our support for our Slovakia team!

To me, this picture reminds me to look back at God’s beauty, to see His handiwork in my life, to realize that Ephesians 2:10 is so true, that God has prepared the good works for me to walk in. As I seek to be faithful to His calling, I see His beauty more in more, even when things ahead can be scary.