The Past

I’m a history buff, so I like the past. There have even been times when I really wished I lived in the 1700s—until I seriously considered the lack of amenities, like running water, electricity, and contacts. You can imagine, I’ve given up on that idea.

But, just recently, I traded it for another era. See, I studied abroad in England in the spring of 2008, and I found almost as soon as I had returned that I wanted to go back. No kidding—I think as soon as I boarded the plane for my return flight, I regretted it. And, for almost an entire year afterwards, I dwelled on that experience, mentally reliving the memories and wondering what my British friends were doing and even, sometimes, checking their Facebook profiles to see if anything interesting was going on in their lives. I began wishing myself back (much to the dismay of my mother), recalling how much healthier I had been overseas, how much I had grown spiritually, and how much more money I had seemed to have while there. I had a breakdown at Christmas, wishing I were there—and another, smaller one at Easter, recalling my Easter in Britain just a year earlier. It was bad.

But I didn’t realize just how bad until I ran across Numbers 11. In this passage, we find the Israelites making the journey from Egypt, the land of slavery, to Canaan, the land of promise. But, by this time they are tired of eating manna—the bread from heaven—and complain to God about it. “The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!’" (verses 4-6 NIV). Ignoring the blessing they’re receiving in the present, they long for their past—in slavery. Granted, I wasn’t in slavery in England—but their language struck me instantly, because it sounded exactly like what I was complaining about. And, in all my comparing my past to my present, I was ignoring God’s work in the here-and-now! It has probably been the hardest lesson I’ve ever had to learn—but it will also probably be the one I remember the most.

Certainly, God tells us to remember our pasts, to remember where we’ve come from. In fact, the Bible includes whole books devoted to reminding the Israelites of their past. But God does not want us to do so in order that we might pine for the way things were. Instead, He wants us to see His working in our pasts to remind ourselves that He is faithful in our present and can be trusted with our futures. “Forget the former things,” He says, and “do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV). Instead of watching the road behind you, try looking ahead for the streams in your wasteland. It’s much more worthwhile.