Looking Back and Ahead

Do you ever have moments of clarity when the Lord gifts you with the ability to see where He has brought you? I had the humble privilege of seeing that with clarity throughout last weekend, while at a Women's Prayer Summit.

In previous years at the same Summit, I have had intense and tiring times with God where He was pruning me and requiring me to lay much down. I am so thankful for those times. Of anybody, I have had so much work to be done in my heart, my mind, my life...and God used these times away with Him to reveal Himself to me deeply.

But this year was very different. This year was a year of feasting - of looking back and remembering. This was a year of acknowledging just what He has done in stripping away layers of hardness, of teaching me to trust Him, of establishing my heart in Him. As I led worship, as I had wonderful times alone with Him in the Word, as I had deep conversations with other women at all different parts on their journey, as I taught from Ephesians...He was there as a Friend, alongside, whispering "See what I've done."

How can I say thank you to a God so gracious as to give these glimpses? I know He still has so much to do in shaping me to be more like Him, but I am so thankful for where he has brought me with Him thus far.

Looking back makes it so exciting to look ahead.

( Ephesians 2: 4-10 ) But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.