Episode 603

TODAY’S READING

25 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”

For it is not wise to ask such questions

Ecclesiastes 7:10

Today’s devotional is brought to you by my pastor, Pastor Christopher J. Alessi.

It’s not saying that like reminiscing is gonna kill you or it’s bad. It just says it’s not wise to ask, you know, why was yesterday better than today? And I love sometimes you have to like look at the Bible and some of the commands given in it, especially in Proverbs and stuff. And you think it’s kind of like those weird laws in Florida or the weird signs. You see. It’s like, if they had to put it into writing, it’s because somebody did it. Yeah, I do not consume Tide Pods. It’s because people were doing it right. Well, if he’s saying, don’t say this is because people have a tendency to do that. We have a tendency to look back and think, why was yesterday better? Why did I feel better yesterday? Why did I? Why did I feel better about myself yesterday? While that seems harmless, that sometimes, especially if it has to do maybe an area of weight, you know, I used to be thinner and more athletic. 

I turned 30 6 months ago; I tried to hop on our platform the other day like I used to do when I was 25. And I’m like, and I happen very easy to look back and think why I was better, more athletic, more agile, younger, felt better? Why did I have more peace? But you see, the danger lies in looking backward and devoting energy towards it. We’re supposed to put all of our energy into today to create a better tomorrow. That’s what we’re supposed to do. And the clickbait of reminiscing, the enemy will get in there and start to make you feel helpless because you can’t go backward. There’s only one thing we really can’t do. And that’s going backward. And if we devote any time towards looking back, we start to rob ourselves of the God-given power we have to use today to shape tomorrow. Were you having dinner yesterday? Maybe. But don’t sulk over that. Spend today, making a better tomorrow. Are you better in the area of your relationships? Were you happier? Did you make a mistake, and maybe you left the wrong person, or maybe you ended a marriage that you shouldn’t have ended? Or I don’t know, don’t devote any time towards soaking over that. Spend today saying, God, what do I need to do with the 24 hours of gold you gave me to make more to build the life tomorrow that I want? In clickbait, I go into the four voices that are always present. 

God’s voice creates; there are people’s voices that do not create. There’s our voice which also creates, and then there’s that invisible voice clickbait discusses the invisible voice, but you see, the enemy would love to use a voice that creates our agent. And you’d like to use that to create a life nobody wants. That’s what a lot of people have done. It’s what a lot of you may have done. That’s what I’ve done in seasons of my life, where I woke up one day living the life I didn’t want to live, and I was trying to blame other people trying to blame their voices for things. They said to me, and I had to realize no, there are only two voices that have the power to create God’s voice in the very beginning. And my voice, I can create the world, my world, my life that I want using my mouth, which is why it’s so interesting. What does it say? Say not, so we don’t use the God-given voice; you have to look backward. Use it today. 

Start speaking life over you. Today. Maybe we can give this gift away to everybody, but I have something that I call my sermon to myself—just a document of things I say just about every morning to meditate on God’s word. Spend your time saying the right things about who you are today and who God could help you become tomorrow. Not why yesterday was better than today. Don’t spend any time trying to say this last thing. Sometimes when people hop on to podcasts, they’re doing it because they’re trying to just put a little bit of good into their day. Right. And that’s what you’ve done here. You’ve to sow a great seed by listening to this podcast. Now sow more so even more by saying the right things about you and your life. Because when you do that, you honor God.

Prayer:

I pray for everybody listening to this right now. I pray for all of the mind morning devotionals community; Lord, let them say the right things about who they are and who they’re becoming. Your word says you see us not as we are but as we can and will be. So, Lord, I pray that You would help us think your thoughts like your word says we think about anything praiseworthy, anything worthy of praise, the excellent the good things, so we don’t spend any time looking backward. Let us look forward to who you are shaping us into. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.