Don’t Look Back

“Elijah went over to Elijah as he was plowing twelve yoke of oxen, and threw his cloak over him.” 1 Kings 19:19

The Lord told the great prophet Elijah to anoint Elisha to be the prophet to succeed him. So Elijah in obedience went to Elisha, son of Shaphat, and threw his mantle of camel hair over him. Elisha immediately understood this to mean, “Follow me”, and made preparations to leave his way of life as a farmer. He slaughtered his oxen, burned his plow and used that to roast the flesh, and gave it all away to his plowmen. 

There are still plows being used in the province. A farmer tills his land using a plow or plough to prepare it for planting seeds. It is important that the farmer keeps his sight straight ahead so that the plow will not go this way and that. If he looks back, the furrow will be crooked.

Being a disciple of Jesus also requires that we not look back, just like Elisha. Jesus said in Luke 9:62, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Past mistakes, relationships gone bad, what people think of us because of our past, can keep us from being confident to do the work God wants us to do. Every one of us makes mistakes we regret, but we should not let it define us. We should learn from it, ask forgiveness and make amends, yes, but it should not keep us from growing and being fruitful.

Lord, help me to keep my sight on You!