“Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For you do not inquire wisely concerning this” (Ecclesiastes 7:10).

IT’S HARD TO REACH FORWARD AND BACKWARD AT THE SAME TIME. Yet I fear that’s the very thing we often try to do. We say we’re reaching forward, but the pull of nostalgia can tug at our hearts so strongly that we catch ourselves trying to make the world like it USED to be rather than the way it OUGHT to be, as if “used to be” and “ought to be” were exactly synonymous. The net effect of our exertions in life is often more backward than forward.

Nostalgia is a wonderful thing, and not many folks love it any more than I do. But nostalgia must be handled with care. If we don’t watch out, it can hinder us in our journey toward God. So here are a few tips on enjoying the past in a helpful, healthful way.

(1) WHATEVER GOOD MAY HAVE BEEN DONE PREVIOUSLY, TODAY IS THE ONLY DAY ANY NEW ACTIVITY CAN BE DONE. We can enjoy the past, and we can certainly learn from it. But yesterday’s work is already done, and that work won’t suffice for today. Thinking about the past (or anything else, for that matter) can’t be a substitute for today’s action.

(2) WE MUST LEARN TO BE GRATEFUL FOR THE PAST WITHOUT WORSHIPING IT. Having the right attitude toward past, present, and future is a matter of BALANCE. If there are good things about the days gone by, we must love those things neither too little nor too much. Maintaining that balance requires making frequent adjustments.

(3) EVEN IF THE PAST WAS BETTER THAN THE PRESENT IN SOME WAYS, IT IS FRUITLESS TO WONDER WHY. None of us — not even the philosophers — have enough information to answer the question, “Why is the world changing as it is?” The farmer must stick to seed-sowing and not worry too much why the weather’s not what it used to be.

When we get to wondering “Why were the former days better than these?” we need to understand that THE PAST WASN’T REALLY AS WONDERFUL AS WE REMEMBER IT. After all, our memories are quite selective, remembering a few pleasant things and forgetting others that weren’t so pleasant. So while the good old days may do our hearts good to ponder, they don’t serve very well as a goal for the future.

“Through the centuries the people have dreamed of a Golden Age and longed for its return, unconscious that they dream of a day that has never been” (Guy E. Shipler).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com

“. . . knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers” (1 Peter 1:18).

DECIDING TO “REACH FORWARD” REQUIRES A GOOD BIT MORE THAN JUST GETTING BUSY. Our actions have to be motivated by a love for God, and they have to be within the limits of His will and His purposes. Having been redeemed from the “aimless conduct” in which we used to engage, we must now devote ourselves to deeds that are purposeful and fruitful with regard to God.

One of the main things that distinguishes the Christian’s life is that it is GOING SOMEWHERE THAT REALLY MATTERS. If there were no God, nothing that happens would have any meaning. From birth to death, our lives would be no more than the “busyness” of spinning our wheels. But God does exist, and what that means is that history is not just history — it is His story. The plot is moving toward a climax that will redound to His eternal glory, and if we allow ourselves to be reconciled to Him through His Son, then every deed we do can help move the plot toward its great end.

We need to live, work, and serve in the confidence that what we do in the Lord is eternally worthwhile WHETHER WE CAN SEE THAT RIGHT NOW OR NOT. Paul wrote, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58). YOUR LABOR IS NOT IN VAIN IN THE LORD. What glorious, life-changing words! What a difference they ought to make for us on days when we can’t see that it does any good to try to do what’s right.

But we need to take the time to “take stock” of the way we’re living our lives. If we’ve become Christians, then we have the OPPORTUNITY to be busy about the most important things in the world — but really, are those the things that we’re busy about most of the time? Is our day-to-day activity connected to our principles in a harmonious way? Are we walking our talk? Is it really God that we’re reaching forward to, or must we admit that we’re preoccupied with lesser things? These questions aren’t just important; they ought to be URGENT as well. If we’re not busy about the Father’s business, then our conduct is not going anywhere — it’s aimless.

“It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about?” (Henry David Thoreau).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10,11).

THE VERY ESSENCE OF FAITH IS TO “TRUST AND OBEY.” If a certain course of action seems wise to us and looks like it might lead to satisfactory results, it doesn’t take much faith to follow that course. But when we can’t see how a particular thing is going to turn out, or if we have a hunch that it might turn out disastrously, it takes faith to trust the person who formulated the plan and simply carry out the instructions that have been given to us.

We can only imagine what faith it took for Abraham to “trust and obey” when God said to leave his home in Ur (not to mention the things that God later commanded him to do). But faith was indeed the key. “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, NOT KNOWING WHERE HE WAS GOING” (Hebrews 11:8).

Today, many of us try to be people of faith, but our faith often fails us. What God says can seem so contrary to common sense that we balk at obeying Him. So when someone points out to us, “This is what God says,” we tend to respond, “But what if . . . ?”

Even in worldly affairs, however, we shouldn’t always decide our course of action pragmatically, based on what we think will “work.” Our definition of what will “work” is often flawed, and in any case, we can’t see far enough ahead to know what the outcome of any decision will be. So we need to base our decisions ON PROVEN PRINCIPLES RATHER THAN PREDICTIONS OF PARTICULAR OUTCOMES!

In spiritual matters, we can take it for granted that God’s way will always work, that is, it will always accomplish the purpose that He had in mind, whether that purpose is clear to us or not: “[My word] shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” So the question is not what will happen, but what our principles should be. And that’s just what God has given us in the Scriptures: a treasure chest of valid, time-tested, true-north PRINCIPLES.

“If one can be certain that his principles are right, he need not worry about the consequences” (Robert Elliott Speer).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com

“Then Samuel said to the people, ‘Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing’” (1 Samuel 12:20,21).

LIKE THE PEOPLE OF SAMUEL’S DAY, WE NEED TO BE WARNED AGAINST GOING AFTER “EMPTY THINGS WHICH CANNOT PROFIT OR DELIVER.” Empty things are those that are fruitless and ineffective. They promise great thirst-quenching fulfillments but deliver nothing but dryness and dust in the end. And empty things are all that we can seek if we “turn aside from following the Lord.”

God Himself is what we were created to seek. When we reach forward to Him, we’re doing the most natural thing in the world. “Eternity” has been planted in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and that being true, we can’t really NOT need God. But if God is what we need, we must be careful to give our hearts what they need AND NOTHING LESS THAN THAT. Empty things will leave our hearts empty!

But as we determine to reach for the right things, it is sometimes hard to be honest about what we’re really reaching for. We tell ourselves that it’s God we’re reaching for when in reality it’s often certain blessings FROM God that we’re primarily interested in. It’s not God Himself that we seek but only a certain path to God. And if our particular path to God turns out to be different from what we had in mind, we sometimes falter in our faithfulness. But we need to be like Job, just as willing to trust God when it doesn’t “pay” as when it does. It must be GOD that we want, period.

It’s a fact that we are a “reaching people.” By our very nature, we strain forward, eager to get in touch with SOMETHING that can fill our needs. Foolishly, however, we often reach for the wrong things, things that can’t satisfy us in the long run. And this is no small problem; it’s a matter of life and death. If in our need we grasp the wrong thing, we doom ourselves to death. So the question is not really whether we’ll “reach forward” — we WILL satisfy our desires in one way or another. The only question is whether our “satisfactions” will kill us or not. It pays a thirsty man to be very careful what he allows himself to drink.

“Thirst must be quenched! If our desires are not met by God, we will quickly find something else to alleviate our thirst” (Erwin W. Lutzer).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com