I remember feeling like I was drinking from a firehose during our 8-week orientation before heading overseas. I wrestled with information overload. Thankfully, I kept good notes to review later.

One little piece of information I heard during orientation kept swirling through my mind as we packed for our move. One of our leaders mentioned a study that suggested global workers who packed lightly and brought a bare minimum of things from home remained longer in their overseas ministry. Those who overloaded their bags with things from home didn't stay as long. I wondered why. Did the overabundance of reminders from home cause the workers to constantly look back?

In scripture, we find several stories of people looking back. One example is the story of Lot's wife in Genesis 19. As her family flees from the oncoming destruction of Sodom, they are warned not to look back. But Lot's wife looks back at her home and becomes a pillar of salt. This story reminds us of the danger of dwelling on the past as we embark on a new journey.

In Numbers 14, the Israelites grumbled during their trek through the wilderness after fleeing Egypt. Suddenly, they were homesick for Egypt because their stomachs were full while living there. It didn't matter that they were enslaved while living in Egypt, just that their tummies were full.

When things are difficult, it is so easy to look back and paint mind pictures about the wonders of our former life. Often, circumstances look much better in our memories than they actually were.

In Philippians 3, Paul said, "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead." Moving forward often requires strain. We must focus on the prize ahead, not what lies behind us.

Jesus is the ultimate example of longevity. “For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross." (Hebrews 12:2)

He endured.

We must look forward to the joy and the prize set before us, lean on Jesus, and endure.