What sense would it make for me to fixate on the days when I was 20 years old and start longing to be that age again for whatever reason?
Instead of trying to recapture that past season, it makes more sense to embrace my current season and look forward to what God has in store in the future.
But often, naturally and spiritually, we look backward.
In our walk with the Lord, we sometimes get stuck reminiscing about an old thing, when God is trying to do a new thing.
The Children of Israel made that mistake.
After suffering under cruel Egyptian slave masters for over 400 years, they were initially happy when God freed them through His servant Moses.
But freedom mandated that they deal with the temporary discomfort of treading through the wilderness until they reached the “land flowing with milk and honey.”
On their hungriest and thirstiest days, even Egypt, which was once appalling to them, looked appealing to them.
In Exodus 16:3, while feeling frustrated and disillusioned with their circumstances, the Bible says the Israelites complained to Moses and Aaron that they wished they had never left Egypt.
"If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt," they moaned. "There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death."
Have you ever looked back at the lesser on your way to greater, because you didn’t know how to deal with the difficulty of the in-between?
Have you ever romanticized and fantasized about bondage because freedom didn’t feel as good as you imagined it would?
Have you ever been aggravated by the meantime experience to the point where your former circumstance, though imperfect, in hindsight, appeared to be the better option?
It can be discouraging, I know.
Yet, I also know this: the journey is worth it. The sacrifices, tears and work it takes to step into your season of better are never in vain.
Don’t give into discouragement. Walk through the transition, the trial, the test, knowing that, on the other side, God indeed has more for you.
As long as you walk in obedience to His will, even when He carries you through a dry, tough, dark place, you will come out victoriously.
Don’t retreat. Keep moving forward by faith. Don’t dare look back! Things often look better in the rear view mirror of life when what you see through the front window is uncertain or unpleasant.
But remember, God brought you out of where you were then to the place where you are now for a reason. While you await clarity and manifestation, it isn't easy. Nevertheless, in the meantime, don’t settle for worse, because of the hard work and sacrifice it takes to have better. March on.
Cry if you must, but don’t go backward. Keep moving forward.
Be like the four figures Ezekiel saw in a divinely inspired prophetic vision in Ezekiel 1:12 NASB, which is what I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration.
It says, “And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup, you are being empowered to push ahead and follow the spirit of God, even in the face of hardship, adversity, hurt and pain.
Go straight forward and don’t turn back.
You will bear fruit in your life if you remain connected to God and walk the path of destiny He has laid out for you.
Apart from Him, you can do nothing, but through Him, all things are possible.