I love watching TV I’ve recorded on my DVR. I can enjoy the parts of the shows I like...and fast forward through the other stuff (like commercials). If I miss something, I can just rewind the program and catch it again... Unfortunately, life doesn’t work like a DVR. Time doesn’t stop at my command and I don’t get to go back and experience just the parts I like. Life moves unflinchingly forward with what seems to be increasing speed.
It’s the same for all of us. Our lives push on... We go through our days climbing to new peaks and enjoying the anticipation of what the view will be like when we reach the top. But as with anything else, we remember that someday we could be headed downward again.
Good times and bad times. Not going backward or stopping... just pushing through. Often we see our lives in decline and wonder how we got there... bad decisions, lack of connection with God, challenging circumstances...the list goes on. But remember... our lives will eventually head back upward. God loves us too much to leave us at our lowest.
And when we get to the top...we need to enjoy the view and give God the glory for how we got there. I know many who miss the victories. They win a battle in their lives, overcome a temptation, conquer an addiction... and don’t celebrate. Why? Because instead of enjoying what God HAS done...they are too focused on what they think He hasn’t. They anticipate a decline... expect a relapse... prepare for the next valley... They are so busy waiting for the bottom to come again that they miss what they’ve worked so hard to achieve to get to the top.
Remember, whether you find yourself with a great view from a peak... or an obstructed view from the valley... things WILL change! What you are going through is only for a season... life will continue to move forward and change will come. I will be praying for you this week that as life leads you onward and upward... and circumstances take you up and down... you would cling to this verse:
“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Phil. 4:13
Enjoy the view from the top... Count on God at the bottom... and know that His strength is all you need to keep moving forward in the seasons of life.
