Glorified Past
Tuesday, May 5
Glorified Past
When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. Exodus 16:15
Sometimes, if we’re honest, all we want to do is go back. Because our present seems so hard, it’s only natural that we shift to a time where it wasn’t hard, and often that is looking back. But what we remember isn’t always where we really came from it’s a version of it, a filtered version, a softened version. There’s a book called The Fractured Republic, and the author makes the point that people are often “blinded by nostalgia.” He’s talking about politics, saying people on different sides all long for some version of the past “If only we could get back to this time” or “If only we could return to that era.” But his point is bigger than politics, it’s human nature.
That’s the danger of delusion. It doesn’t just distort your past, it distorts your perspective. Because now you’re not just remembering wrong, you’re desiring wrong. You start craving what God already brought you out of. You start missing what once broke you. And before you know it, you’re ready to go back to something God delivered you from, not because it was better, but because it was familiar.
Today, I encourage you to see your situation as it is. Nostalgia can become deception when it rewrites reality. Don’t let a hard present make you rewrite a broken past.
Prayer for today: Faithful God, thank You for Your patience with me. When I begin to use the eyes in the flesh, I miss out on what you have done in the Spirit. I pray that my heart will find rest in the truth that You are always faithful. Help me to embrace Your fresh start today and extend that mercy to myself and others. Amen