When The Past Can Help Your Future

In continuing with my yearly study of the Christmas Story, as told in the Biblical book of Luke, I came across another example that will aid us in our quest for great expectations of good things.  Yesterday we talked about the angel Gabriel’s visitation to the older priest, Zechariah, and mentioned the angel’s subsequent visit with Mary.  Gabriel used a valuable tool in helping Mary to buy into the announcement he was making to her.  When she questioned what seemed to be the natural impossibility of the coming event, the angel immediately told her of another seemingly impossible occurrence that had taken place only six months earlier.  He stated that “Elizabeth, your relative, is six months pregnant with a son in her old age.  People said she couldn’t have a child.”  (Luke 1:36 Gods Word©)  This look at the past convinced Mary that she could expect the future to turn out just as the angel had said it would.  (See Luke 1:37-38)

Now, while this example is describing a couple of complete miracles, it still points us to the truth of being able to use the successes of the past to help us see our good expectations for the future through until completion.  I can name many times where a look back at how things had turned out in the past gave me the confidence to believe for the meeting of current desires. An example that comes immediately to mind was the need that we had, about 12 years ago, for a new family vehicle.  To make a long story short, when I finally accepted the reality that with four kids, a trailer and a wife who liked to bring all the neighborhood kids to church with us, it looked like the only vehicle that would work for us would be a Suburban.  With that settled, I then had to figure out a way to purchase it.  I had just received a promotion at my job, but still didn’t feel comfortable adding another car payment to the family budget. 

When I began to fret about it, I remembered that I had gone through this same quandary a year before when I needed to replace my small pickup.  At that time I had gone through a series of car deals that had fallen through.  When I finally stopped trying to make things happen and put my trust in my foundation, a set of totally unforeseen occurrences happened.  I suddenly found myself in the position to purchase a five year old Camaro that had only been driven on weekends in dry weather, for a great price.  Can you believe that!

This memory helped me to set aside my fears, and begin to expect good things to happen in my current situation.  Within a month I was offered a part-time staff position at our church, with a salary that would more than cover the monthly payments for a new Suburban.  Let me clarify here, that although the past success did help my resolve in my positive expectations for the future, I did not expect the current circumstances to follow an identical path of the past event.  It was the positive completion of the past that gave me the fortitude to stand for a new set of expectations to be accomplished in the present endeavor.

While some of our past experiences do not end with success, many do.  Be selective in your memories, and dwell on the successes rather than the failures in life.  This will give you a much better outlook on your future, and the strength to indulge in great expectations of good things in the days ahead.  Stay tuned, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”