Yesterday Was Yesterday

I've been thinking about something that can quietly derail us during a season of waiting.

The past.

Recently, I found myself reflecting on some of my accomplishments and asking a simple question:

Where would I be if...?

Where would I be if I hadn't taken that opportunity?

Where would I be if that door hadn't opened?

Where would I be if that challenge hadn't crossed my path?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized something. While it's good to remember what God has done, it's dangerous to live there.

Imagine if you reached a major accomplishment and then stopped. You spent the rest of your life celebrating that one victory without ever growing, learning, or moving forward. It might feel good for a while, but eventually you'd become stagnant.

The same thing can happen spiritually.

Sometimes when God places us in a holding pattern, we mistake waiting for stagnation. We begin replaying old successes, old failures, old hurts, and old memories. Before long, we find ourselves living in yesterday instead of preparing for tomorrow.

Paul understood this danger. In Philippians 3:13-14 he writes that he forgets what is behind and presses toward what is ahead. Not because the past didn't matter, but because God was still moving him forward.

That's the key.

God has a plan for the whole of our lives, not just one chapter.

One accomplishment is not the destination.

One disappointment is not the destination.

One season is not the destination.

God is continually calling us forward.

The danger of nostalgia is that it often edits reality. We remember the good and forget the bad. We romanticize what was and become dissatisfied with what is.

The Israelites did this in the wilderness. They longed for the food they had in Egypt while conveniently forgetting they were slaves. They remembered the comforts but ignored the bondage.

How often do we do the same?

We can become so focused on what was that we miss the new thing God is doing right now.

Isaiah 43:18-19 reminds us:

"Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing."

Family, don't allow yesterday's success to become today's complacency.

Don't allow yesterday's hurt to become today's prison.

Don't allow nostalgia to become a permanent address.

Instead, treat the past like a museum. Visit it when you need to remember a lesson. Reflect on what God has taught you. Appreciate how far He has brought you.

Then leave.

Walk back into the present where God is working.

This week, ask yourself:

Am I depending more on yesterday's experience than today's obedience?

If so, invite God to help you move forward.

Yesterday was yesterday.

Don't miss your future because you're still living in your past.

~ Selah