It is important to live in the present rather than the past. It is even more important to have hope for the future. We must be prisoners of hope rather than prisoners of our own pasts. The Bible says it is “impossible for God to lie,” so we can confidently “lay hold of the hope set before us” (see Hebrews 6:18).
Hebrews 6:19 says, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil.” In times of uncertainty, economic strain, wars and rumors of wars, and terrible escalation of world events, if we don’t have an anchor for our souls, the storms of life will blow us all over the water. Thankfully, we have God’s hope to anchor us.
We must remain in a place of faith, hope, and love. We must not let cynicism get hold of our spirits. We must fix our eyes on Jesus, the anchor of our souls. We must maintain a better vision of our futures than we do of our pasts. He will be with us no matter what comes.
Being prophetic is about seeing the impossibilities of our futures becoming possible, not replaying negative memories of bad events and circumstances on repeat. It is seeing and defining the hopes and possibilities of what is set before us, not what is behind us. We must remain in a place of faith and hope.
Do take time to grieve losses, but don’t stay stuck and calcified in grief. People become calcified in grief when they turn around and look back at what used to be. That’s what happened to Lot’s wife (see Genesis 19). When we look back, the very thing that God tried to detach us from can change us down to our DNA—like Lot’s wife, who turned into salt. I have seen people who could never detach themselves from the hold the past had on them, and they became different people.
We must lift our eyes off disillusionment. With all the world events happening around us, if we don’t keep our eyes on the prize and the hope set before us, moving forward, and walking in faith, we’ll fall into disillusionment and spiritual paralysis in these times. Don’t get your eyes on people; keep your eyes on Jesus. I may fail and you may fail, but if we keep our eyes on Jesus, the One who has never failed, we can keep moving forward.
The world is full of angry and hurt people. The world is full of violence and disillusionment. We must be like Abraham, whom the Bible says, “hoped against hope” (see Romans 4:18 NASB). We all know there are problems in the world and in the church. Imperfect people everywhere are adding to the world’s confusion. Are you contributing to their negativity, despair, and anger? Or, are you full of love, joy, and hope?
With the present so turbulent, have you noticed how few people are talking about the future? Few have a vision for the future because everyone is obsessing over what happened in the past or what’s happening in the news. We must start thinking big and asking big, because God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (see Ephesians 3:20). We must begin to see the possibilities of tomorrow.
No one is talking about future possibilities. Do you have a vision for your future? That is what being prophetic is all about. Exodus 14:13-14 says, “And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.’”
The Lord told Moses to tell the children of Israel to go forward. Had they looked back, they would have seen and heard the chariots pursuing them, but if they kept their eyes in front of them instead of behind them, they could look forward to following a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Look forward because God is about to unstick you and part the Red Sea for you! However, this is in your future, not your past.
Anger, regret, resentment, and desire will bind you to your past. You’ll become calcified and stuck in a temporary circumstance, not moving forward. However, those who are led by the Spirit have the courage to follow God into the future. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14).
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Blessings,
Chris Reed | President & CEO
MorningStar Ministries
