“No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)
Why do we often struggle with moving forward? It might be that we’re holding on to what’s behind us—to what we’ve known. We replay what we’ve experienced. We stay comfortable with what’s familiar, even when it’s no longer fruitful. We can get stuck living in yesterday. Yesterday’s experiences. Yesterday’s successes. Even yesterday’s failures. How do we break that cycle and move forward?
Jesus’ warning about looking back becomes clearer when we understand the picture He was painting in Luke 9:62. Jesus isn’t condemning loving farewells or cherished memories; He’s emphasizing wholehearted obedience. Like a farmer plowing a field, we cannot faithfully serve God while constantly looking behind us.
Maybe God is leading you into a new season but you’re still holding on to what was. Looking back creates hesitation and keeps us focused on the past. Moving forward requires faith. It requires a deliberate decision to trust God as you move beyond what you see and what you’ve known. You can’t live in yesterday and walk into tomorrow at the same time.
The Israelites struggled with this very thing. God brought them out of Egypt in one night, but it took years to get Egypt out of them. Every time things became difficult, they looked back instead of forward—back to what was familiar, what felt safe, and what they convinced themselves was better. But their memory was selective. They forgot the bondage and only remembered the benefits (Numbers 11:4–6).
If you’re going to move forward into God’s purpose, you have to release both yesterday’s pain and yesterday’s success. You cannot step into what God has next while anchored to what was. How is God calling you beyond your comfort zone? What past failure, hurt, or even success is He telling you to leave behind?
A farmer can’t plow a straight row while constantly looking behind him, and neither can we faithfully follow Christ while stuck in the past. When you release yesterday, you live with open hands—ready to receive whatever God has for you next.
