Can’t Go Back
Text: Hebrews 12
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
At OGWG, we love to be in GOD’s Creation. Up in the mountains where the concrete jungle of the city and daily life is removed if only for a day… To be out on the trails testing the limits of man and machine while finding that still small voice of the LORD that gives us the ability to continue to strive forward in the daily grind. We love to do what our rigs were built to do.
GOD is similar. We are HIS workmanship, created in CHRIST JESUS to do good works… GOD loves to use HIS projects for what they are meant to do…
I remember a moment up on an obscure, less traveled portion of the Naches Trail in October of ’25… As many of you may know, some trails start out simple and become anything but… What started out as a picturesque and fairly simple trail, turned into a trail that tested both our nerves and recovery gear. At a certain point on this section of trail, after climbing a loose steep grade, we began to navigate our way through a very tight section of NW Fir trees that the trail twisted its way through… It was then that we realized, that even if we wanted to, it would be impossible to go backwards and return the way we came.
Life can be that way sometimes… As we journey the path we find ourselves on, we often find ourselves in moments that we would rather not be in, and if we were able, we might choose to go back.
The older I get, the more I find, my response is often to desire to simply go back… Go back before it all started… Back before the struggles, back before the world went stupid, when the music was good, the cars were better, and everything seemed simpler.
But GOD’s ways and our ways are not the same. HE works differently than we do and HE calls out to us to trust HIM in the rough spots. Wish we may, with all our might, we can’t go back… We must journey ahead, moving forward as GOD made us to regardless of obstacle so that we can learn what it means to trust the LORD and lean not on our own understanding…
We must learn to look ahead to see what GOD will do next…
Isaiah 43
18 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
GOD asks if we see HIS hands at work. If we only look at the difficulties we face while we pine over the past, we will miss out on all that JESUS is doing in the present and what HE is about to do ahead.
The author of Hebrews counsels us wisely in chapter 12.
Hebrews 12
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Prayer:
LORD, forgive me for desiring what was and what used to be. I know we can’t go back and I know that you have better things ahead. Help me to have eyes to see that are fixed on you, your Word, and the excitement that lies ahead.
Thank you for always being with me as we journey down the trail less trodden. Amen.when we choose to try, even when we’re unsure of the outcome. Every time you take action despite self-doubt, you reinforce the belief that you’re capable. Confidence isn’t about having all the answers — it’s about trusting that you can figure it out along the way.
