When backpacking, I encourage the men to stop every 10 or 15 minutes to look back, seeing the area they had just hiked from a new perspective. The purpose of looking back is to give a view of the area but from the other side. People have hiked down the same trail they hiked earlier but found the scenery different. This has caused some to think they are not on the right trail or ridge, leading to them taking a different route, becoming further disorientated and eventually lost in the mountains.
It is easy plodding along the trail to keep your head down, watching your step and miss what is around you. The expression, you can’t see the forest for the trees would apply. When hiking the trail, you only see what is ahead if you do not stop and look back.
How do you know God is working in your life? It is difficult to distinguish from moment to moment the working of God. This is why we walk by faith and not by sight. We must believe that He is as He promised He would. But how do we know? We want something tangible to grasp.
The easiest way to see the working of God in your life is to look back. Remember what you were and who you are now. As we live committed to the Lord and His will, we see Him working. Sometimes it is very obvious but other times not. Here is where faith comes into the picture. If we look back, we can see how the Lord led us through events in our lives. We can see His hand in the daily situations. We can see how He developed our marriages and families as we walked with Him. It is also easy to see where we went astray when we look back, those times we did not walk with the Lord.
God is working in our lives as we walk by faith and not by sight. He works in us and through us. He brings others into our lives for various reasons and purposes. It is easily seen looking back. Doing this throughout the day, you will see God’s guidance, working, enabling, wisdom, and strength. You will say, “I didn’t know it at the moment but God, you are working.” Take time to look back. It brings God closer to the present. He is working right now, even though you may not see it, you will when you look back.
Monte Leavell 