Yesterday... Today... Tomorrow...

The Beatles have a song that I'm guessing you've heard at some point in your life (it's only been with us since 1965)...

"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday..."

(You'll probably have that tune stuck in your head for awhile).  But many of us have a song we're familiar with too...  And it sounds eerily familiar to the song above: "Oh, I believe in yesterday..."

If given the choice of living in the unknown or known, many would choose the latter.  It's something we can wrap our arms around, to a certain degree it's understood, and (if we're being honest) we're probably more comfortable with where we've been than where we're going...

We're not alone...  The Israelites were freed from a life of HARD labor & hundreds of years of slavery, but soon told Moses they wanted to go back.  Why?  Because the unknowns of today & tomorrow get tough.  And in our foolish, simple minds we quickly forget how bad some things are.  But when the ordinary sets in, even if it's not good for us, even painful, we would sometimes rather go back because of one thing: familiarity.

I have a problem with this...  So does God.  Living in the past requires NO faith.  It never stretches us... challenges us...  moves us to learn something new.  What happens when you find yourself never being challenged, stretched or taught?  Spiritually speaking: you die...  It's a slow, slippery slope of becoming an arid desert of selfishness, isolation & fear.  We don't see it immediately - it takes time for the results to show.  But it shows up in time...

And it's a hard place to get unstuck from...

This is why I'm writing this blog.  For years I've said there were certain disciplines I would undertake, but (to borrow & paraphrase): "yesterday was such an easy game to play."

Maybe that's where you are: stuck in the ordinary & familiar; fearful of trying something new...  fearful of BECOMING SOMEONE new.

If so, meditate on these two Scriptures & pray over them... Consider how they impact your today & tomorrow...

"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness." - Lamentations 3:22-23


"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see ... And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." - Hebrews 11:1, 6

Mike