“Those were the good ol’ days.” It’s a saying we’ve all heard at one time or another, and most of us agree that times past seemed to be a little sweeter—maybe a lot sweeter. We’re of the mindset that what we use to do and have is better than where we are today, or for that matter, where we’ll be in the future. It’s sort of a pessimistic viewpoint, but it certainly isn’t without some merit when you look at what’s going on in our world today. This less than optimistic lens is one in which lots of folks see things, but as God’s children, we are commanded by Him to focus our attention on what HE says about things. He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 that He has a good plan for His people, a plan to give us a future and a hope. In John 10:10, our Master Jesus backed this up when he came to give us a more than abundant life. So, no matter how bad things appear, we have it on God’s undeniable authority that better days are ahead.
Regret can be very toxic, especially if we campout in it for too long. I had a conversation with a sister not too long ago, and she expressed how much she wished she could have a do-over with her life. Boy, can I relate. I wish I had listened more attentively to those who gave me sound and Godly advice in my early years; if I had, I could have avoided costly mistakes. On the other side of the spectrum, those mistakes helped mold the strength of my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ today.
The woman I spoke with said she wished she would have waited to get married. She believes her husband was unfaithful for most of their marriage. I am pained every time I hear something like this. Imagine pouring yourself into a person that is supposed to be your best friend and main support for 25 years, and they betray you not once, but repeatedly. Like many sisters that have endured this kind of deep hurt, she says she would never consider marrying again. Some of you may be thinking, “I can’t blame her!”
The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14(NLT), “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” These are our marching orders, and they encompass an attitude and mindset that prompts us to forget the past and look forward to what lies again. This is the energy that will back our commitment to press. But even a neophyte knows that to maintain the motivation and strength to press, you must be sold-out that the joy in front of you far exceeds the pain you’ve left behind.
Relationships gone bad can leave us depleted and emotionally exhausted. A negative attitude adds to the pile. Jesus Christ urges us to come to him when the enemy has used people against us. This is the way to avoid going totally sour on the possibility of loving again. We are not to spend our time looking back at old times with regret. We all have some wouldas-couldas-shouldas, and hopefully we’ve learned from them, but the most important thing we can do for ourselves today is to trust God’s plan for our lives. It’s not a plan that causes us to go back, but to move forward in faith with tremendous expectancy about the good that comes next.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Don’t Long for the Good Ol’ Days”, written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2018. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.