SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                                                                               1276

“Longing for Past Days”

Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me – Job 29:2

Job was going through some serious stuff, and he longed for days past where he was prosperous and healthy. He longed for a time when God watched over him not realizing that God had never left him and has been continually watching over him.

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” – Deuteronomy 31:8

When things get rough in the present day our tendency is to shrink back and we are tempted to dwell on what we perceive to have been the ‘good old days’ of the past.

Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. – Ecclesiastes 7:10

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. – Isaiah 43:18-19

We often attempt to face our trials in our own strength and become overwhelmed with inadequacy. This is when we want to join the ‘back to Egypt club’, longing for times past. Our faith in God is shaken and we have forgotten how bad the ‘good old days’ really were.

We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; … Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt? And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” – Numbers 11:5; 14:3-4

God will never abandon us. He is always watching over us even through difficult times. We must not throw away our confidence in the Lord and shrink back longing for times past.

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised… But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. – Hebrews 10:35-39

This Christmas season consider the purpose and mission of Jesus – a mission which He doggedly pursued and never looked back.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness; For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. – John 12:46; Luke 19:10

Jesus set an example for us in that although He knew the suffering and hardship that was ahead of Him, He never wavered in his confidence and trust in God.

But the Lord God helps me; … therefore, I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

– Isaiah 50:7; Luke 9:51

There is a reason that our windshields are significantly larger than rear-view mirrors. We do not dwell on what is past since we are not going that way.

Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. – Proverbs 4:25

May you shed the weightiness of what causes you despair in the present and a longing for past days. Fix your eyes on Jesus, looking ahead with confidence in His power, presence, provision, and steadfast love for you.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us; For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. – Hebrews 12:1; Romans 8:18

Our Christmas celebration is about the birth of Jesus that made the way for our salvation. This is the glance in the rear-view mirror. Now look ahead. Fix your eyes on Jesus and follow Him. We will soon celebrate His return to bring us home with Him for eternity. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus!

… One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:13-14

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!