“Weren’t Things Better Before?”

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

BIBLE READING: Psalm 13

“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?” (Psalm 13.1)

The question that seems to keep coming up is, “When will things get back to normal?” We miss our sports, our social gatherings, our ability to get out of the house and see people. We’re getting stir crazy looking at the same 4 walls and having to entertain the kids, who should be at school right now. From our perspective, this is not how things ought to be! We’re ready to get back to how things were before.

This question reminds me of Israel after the Exodus. God delivered them out of Egypt and took them into the wilderness, away from the “comforts” they were used too. And what did they do? They complained: “Weren’t things better in Egypt?” (Exodus 16.3; Numbers 11.5-6). What a foolish thought... but why did they long for it? It was predictable.

Human nature desires predictability and resolution. We take comfort in knowing what will happen next, even if it’s not great. Like the psalmist and the Israelites, many of us are frustrated with the timeline of events. Now seems like a good time for things to go back to normal. As time drags on what happens is that frustration breeds discontent.

But we need to pause and consider how God used these “wilderness times” to refocus his people. He took away things they thought they needed to help them trust him and pursue things of greater value (see Deuteronomy 8.2-3)

The fact that we are looking back to our times of comfort and saying, “things were better before” misses the opportunity of the present. We have been forced to slow down and given time to reevaluate our lives. Many things have changed, our foundations have been shaken and our norms altered. But God and his promises have not changed.

I’m not suggesting that this virus is God’s master plan fix the world, but we must not dismiss that God might be trying to change us. He may be taking away our idols, destroying our faulty foundations and refocusing our attention on our homes, communities and relationships. Maybe he wants us to slow down and appreciate what we have instead of pursuing what we don’t.

We don’t know what God is up too. But we know he has not changed, and the scriptures reveal that God works in every circumstance to accomplish his will and glory (Romans 8.28). And so, rather than fixating on the past, let’s develop some perspective. Let go of your discontent and embrace the blessings in front of you. Perhaps this time of crisis is his reminder that this world is broken, but he has offered us something better. Let’s not squander this opportunity by trying to bring back the good old days.

“...one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3.13-14)

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