Pass The Good Old Days

Every one of us has longed for “the good old days.” Those days are defined as a combination of a bad memory and a good imagination. We tend to look back with the notion “if only things could be as they once were, life would be so much better now.” The longing for the days gone by is a part of who you are but the longing you have for the past will not change your present or future. Job agrees with us when he says, “Oh, how I long for the good old days, when God took such very good care of me. He always held a lamp before me and I walked through the dark by its light.” (Job 29:2-3 MSG). Just as it was with Job we too must realize that God permits us to experience difficulties and sorrows, but He also sends victories and joys as well. This is a good reminder that we should try to see life in a balanced way. I agree with the great preacher of the 19th century, Charles Spurgeon who said “Too many people write their blessings in the sand but engrave their sorrows in marble.”

In Job’s case, however, his memory was accurate, and “the good old days” really were good. Your past must be a rudder to guide you and not an anchor to hold you back. If you try to duplicate today what you experienced yesterday, you may find yourself in a rut that robs you of maturity — growing in Christ-likeness.

Job wished he was back in the prime of life (v.4). This is a natural desire but a dangerous one. If you focus so much on the glories of the past that you ignore the opportunities of the present, you may end up unprepared to meet the future. The future will come whether you like it or not. Today may be a difficult chapter in your life because you feel you’re not as close to Jesus as you once were. Are you feeling no enjoyment in the life of grace or any zeal for the glory of God? Could this spiritual decline be because you’ve neglected your prayer-life? Could it be you’ve occupied your heart with something or someone else — more than with God? Could it be your self-confidence has yielded a self-righteousness that’s caused your pride to be exalted above being humbled under the foot of the cross?
 
Christ-follower now’s not the time for wishing for a return of former happiness but to seek the Lord today and ask for His grace and strength to aid you in a renewed walk with Him. Find yourself once again humbled at His feet. He will lift you up and give you yet again a future hope to enjoy the light of His love. Stop sulking and lamenting! Jesus is alive! As long as He lives there is the certainty you will recover from this chapter of your life giving “the good old days” a pass and realize that through it all you have turned another page in maturing as a Christ-follower living for Jesus.

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