Hindsight, Foresight & Insight

Exodus 17:9 (KJV)

⁹And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

The verses following verse 9 go on to state that Joshua did as Moses said.  Moses made the choice to go to the top of the hill and hold up his rod during the battle against the Amalekites.  As long as Moses hands were raised in hold the rod, the Israelites prevailed.  When his arms got heavy and the rod began to fall, the Amalekites prevailed.  Aaron and Hur held up Moses hands keeping the rod held high.  The Israelites won the battle that day. 

This set of scriptures in Exodus is full of men who made choices.  Because they were obedient to God and the man of God, they had a great victory that day.  What would have happened if Moses had not went up on the hill?  What would have happened if Joshua would not have obeyed and gathered men to fight?  What would have happened if Aaron and Hur had not held up Moses hand?  We would not have an encouraging account to read, it would have been a story of defeat.

How many times have we made choices, whether good or bad, and then looked back and wondered if we should have done things differently?  There is an old Irish Proverb that says “May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, the foresight to know where you’re going, and insight to know when you’re going too far”.

Hindsight & Foresight

Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV)

¹³Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

¹⁴I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

We do not need to continually look back and go over the past mistakes and think of the times we should have made different decisions.  We need to look forward at where we are headed.  John 10:27 says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”  We need to begin to listen and obey the voice of the Lord and make the righteous decisions, decisions that conform to the will of God.  Listening to His voice is the foresight we need.  In Jeremiah 29, the Lord said, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”  We will know where we are going when we listen and obey his voice.

Insight

Insight is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as the power or act of seeing into a situation or discernment. 

1 John 4:1 (KJV)

¹Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

We should prove, or discern, the words that are spoken to us and the thoughts that enter our mind.  When we are faced with a decision, we need to pray and ask God to lead and direct us in the way that is upright.  There are times the enemy will put thoughts in our heads and even come to you like an angel of light.  2 Corinthians 11:14-15 states, “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works”.  It is so important that we seek after God and make sure we make the decisions that are righteous and holy.

Use hindsight to look at past victories only, use foresight to reach forward to the things that are ahead and use insight or discernment to make sure you are following after God’s will and not our own.