We’ve all heard the expression that hindsight is 20/20, as in, getting past something usually allows us to gain perspective that we didn’t have (translation, wished we’d had) as we were going through it. There’s truth to that, but I think we can gain some valuable insight by flipping that saying.
2020 is hindsight. It’s over – the year that exposed so many painful realities about us as individuals and as a nation is finally behind us. The only question that remains is whether or not we’ll leave it there?
At the end of Exodus 15, we find God’s people at an oasis called Marah that turned out to be full of bitterness. Sounds a lot like 2020 to me, and while the calendar year of 2020 is hindsight, many will be tempted to stay in the same places of bitterness and hurt and anger and strife that we found there.
But Exodus 15:17 begins with 3 words that are full of power, hope, and new beginnings: “After leaving Marah…” The result of moving on from bitterness? They found 12 springs and 70 palm trees and they camped beside the water.
Translation? 2020 is hindsight. Leave it there. The real oasis is ahead of you.
