I was recently thinking about how we often become nostalgic when we see something from our past, see someone from our past or hear something from our past. We often have fond memories of certain periods of our lives. If we see something or someone or hear something from the past: these things can often trigger memories of that period in our lives.
I recently found myself listening to some music and found this to be the case. It was a CD from a little over 10 years ago. I was listening to it and I felt like I was right back where I was 10 years prior. That’s the amazing thing about music. It has the power to trigger memories. I can be listening to a song one day and then listen to the same song a few days later and I will remember right where I was when I listened to it a few days prior. So, as far as memories go, music has to be one of the most powerful triggers. I can hear a song on the radio from a period of time, say high school or college, and it will feel almost like I was transported back to that time.
The interesting thing is that sometimes, once we get transported back in time, we might have a tendency to want to stay there. You see, that’s why people who grew up in the 50’s like 50’s music, and people who grew up in the 60’s like 60’s music, and people who grew up in the 70’s like 70’s music. Actually, was there any good music in the 70’s? Nothing coming to mind. Just kidding. Don’t be mad 70’s children. You never hear, though, of someone liking music of a time period that didn’t also grow up during that time period. So, the music of that era usually goes away with that generation.
So, is nostalgia a good thing? Sure, in some ways. It’s OK to remember the good times of the past from time to time. This can be good and even healthy. The problem, I think, comes when people get stuck there and never move on. There are some people that never want to move on from their high school days because of all the fun they had and being at the peak of their popularity. Some were captain of the football team. Others were head cheerleader. But ever since then things have never been quite the same. They went to college and got married and had kids and yet they find themselves looking back in the past and at how good it was. And it gets to the point that they end up living there in their minds.
So, why does this happen? Well, I think, often times, we may see the past through rose colored glasses. Maybe things weren’t quite as great as we remember them being. Memories have a way of embellishing themselves. Another thing that happens is people stop looking towards the future. They may think that times could never get better than they remember them being back then. Then they stop setting goals. They stop looking to the future. They stop believing that their future can be better than their past. That’s when people stop looking and moving forward and start looking back.
That’s why goals are so important. It’s important that we keep setting goals for ourselves throughout our lives. Keep believing there’s a future better than the past. Because when we stop doing that. We start looking back to a time we can never return to. And if we keep looking back there we can get stuck there. This is never a good thing. Believe that your best days are ahead of you. Otherwise you will start looking back. That’s not the end of my recommendation, though.
So, how does this apply to our spiritual lives? Well, in many ways actually. We always want to be moving forward spiritually. This is actually the most important thing.
I couldn’t help but remember the Israelites in the wilderness when I was thinking about writing this post. They had really just arrived in the wilderness and they were already remembering their time in Egypt and wishing to return. In Exodus 16:3 it says, ”And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, [and] when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Now, you have to realize what they were wishing to go back to. They were living under slavery in Egypt. They weren’t exactly living like kings. This is what I mean by looking at the past through rose-colored glasses. I would like to think if I were there with the Israelites, at that time, I would have said, “Seriously, you want to go back there? What’s the matter with you?”
Now, I understand that they were facing some difficult conditions. But the thing they were forgetting is that God was with them. It was demonstrated over and over again from the time they left Egypt. Just the fact that Pharaoh let them go was a miracle in itself. God had to send 10 plagues just to get Pharaoh to let them go. When they left, God provided a pillar of fire to guide them by day and a pillar of a cloud to guide them by day. He parted the Red Sea for them to cross to the other side. And then when Pharaoh’s army pursued them God drowned them in the Red Sea. Yet, when they get to the wilderness they couldn’t trust God enough to provide for them. If you read in Psalm 78:19 it says, “Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” Yet, God did provide for them. He provided them manna from heaven. A little further down it says in Psalm 78:25: Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.” So, God proved to be faithful.
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Sadly though, I wonder how often we are like the Israelites. We have seen God work in our lives in the past. Then we come up to a difficult situation and we are wondering if God can provide a table in our wilderness. The good news is, though, there’s this other verse that says in 2Timothy 2:13 If we believe not, [yet] he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. You see, God remains faithful. This means we can trust him. God can provide for you in your wilderness.
If that’s not enough encouragement for you, though, here’s another verse. It’s Isaiah 43:18-19: Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert.” See, God wants to help us. We need to trust him, though. We have to give our wilderness experience to him. That’s how we get through the wilderness. The Israelites got stuck in the wilderness because they wouldn’t stop murmuring and complaining and unbelief. Here’s a good verse to put into action, Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Also, in Psalm 37:5: “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring [it] to pass.”
So, I have to ask you. After reading this, are you still feeling nostalgic?
Psalm 78:25: Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full. God proved to be faithful.
2Timothy 2:13 If we believe not, [yet] he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
Isaiah 43:18-19: Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert.
Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Psalm 37:5 “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring [it] to pass.”