There was a country song I used to listen to a long time ago called, “Remember When” by Alan Jackson. It is a love song about remembering the good times he and his wife shared together through the years. It is a song about reminiscing about the past and cherishing the happy years of raising their children. As human beings, our memories seem to hold onto the ‘highlights’ of the past – the good and the bad. These highlights often replay in our minds over and over and over again – especially during times where the only thing we have to hold onto are the memories. Is this a bad thing? Yes and no. Yes, if ‘looking back’ and ‘remembering when’ keeps a person locked up in the prison of their past, and no, if the ‘looking back’ and the ‘remembering when’ opens the prison doors of others.
But isn’t remembering the good times in our lives suppose to be ok? Well, that depends upon a person’s ability to keep the past in it’s proper place…the past. Why do you think there are inmates in prisons that actually enjoy being there? Just because a person is locked up in prison doesn’t mean they hate being locked up in prison. To see what I’m talking about, just type into your favorite search engine, “benefits of being in prison”, and you will be amazed…maybe shocked!
However, regardless of the ‘physical benefits’ of being in prison, the four cold walls that surround it’s captives, is a constant reminder of the reason they are serving time. In that aspect, the benefits merely become a false sense of freedom because they only mask the reality of being behind bars. A false sense of freedom? Yes! Rather than a place of punishment, the prison becomes familiar, comfortable, and the inmates feel a sense of belonging, a sense of worth they may never have had in the free world.
This is one of the main tactics of the enemy to keep people locked up in the prison of their minds. If he can play upon a person’s self worth, their sense of belonging, then he has them exactly where he wants them. It reminds me of a TV program I saw long ago, about an old football coach who lived in the past successes of his career; daily looking at old trophies, autographed footballs, admiring curled up pictures on the mantle, and watching reruns of plays. For this man, his present self worth was wrapped up in past successes.
Is it wrong to think about the good ole times, old successes, visiting old stomping grounds in the mind, reenacting the ‘home town’ feeling? “After all, it’s not like I’m going to be turned into a pillar of salt like Lot’s wife for reminiscing the good years – looking back because of the sense of comfort it brings…right?” There is a curse in revisiting familiarity for it brings with it a false sense of comfort. Looking back may not cause you to end up as a pile of salt, but it can delay you in moving forward. There is nothing wrong with remembering, else Abba would not have given us a memory to remember. It’s not the looking back that destroys a person, but a fear of the unknown that destroys the trust in Abba Father. Does that mean we no longer should remember the past, good or bad? That depends. Does your remembering act as a springboard for another person to dive into the Kingdom of Yahuweh or does your remembering leave the prison door of your mind open just in case the ‘perceived’ benefits of dwelling in a locked cell outweigh the benefits the Creator is bestowing upon you?
Please, if your at this point in reading, and are thinking that I’m criticizing you for occasionally recalling the good times in your life… your thinking wrong. I am speaking to those who use the past as a security blanket for the future; fearful of the unknown. Does this sound familiar? Doesn’t this sound like the children of Israel who “just got delivered” from Egypt, and within days, wanted to go back to the pleasures of Egypt? Why? Because it seems easier to travel upon a road that is familiar, even if the road takes you back to where you began. It’s easy to condemn the Israelites for their “lack of trust, lack of faith” in the One who just took them out of bondage in a miraculous way. However, it is no different today…is it?
In Psalm 77, the psalmist cries out in grief because he thinks that Yahuweh has changed, abandoned his people, and has forsaken His tender compassions toward them. How does the psalmist pull out of his misery? Stop now and read verses 11 and 12. Remembering what He has done for you in the past, will slam the prison door and expose the real misery of a selfish heart that only wants to be taken care of without any obligation to the Care Provider. It seems easier to dwell in the past, because; ‘what if’, He doesn’t come through for me! Trust is simply being firm in what He has promised, what He has said He will do.
Remembering Abba’s past goodness causes what the enemy says are “benefits”, to be brought out into the light for what they really are… shackles.
What does Messiah say about ‘looking behind?’ In Luke 9:62, Yahushua is answering a man who just asked him about following him, but having to first go back and say goodbye to his family. Messiah knew his heart immediately, responding with, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the reign of Elohim.” What does this mean? Does it mean that when I choose to follow “God”, I cannot say goodbye to my family? That is a tender question to ask, however, I will answer the question using the command from Yahuweh Himself to Moses in the Exodus account: “…tell the people of Israel to go forward!”
Do we play games with the Creator? Do we think we can hide our heart from the one who fashioned it in our mothers womb? As with Lot’s wife, it doesn’t take but a glimpse of the past to cause our focus to be broken from our eternal destiny. The moment Kepha (Peter) took his eyes off Messiah, he began to sink. Why did Messiah tell that man, ‘once you decide to follow me (putting your hand to the plow), looking in any other direction than straight ahead, will make you useless in the Kingdom?’ Because He knew that a future harvest is dependent upon the diligence and perseverance of a person who decides to ‘plow’ ahead, etching out and carving a new path forward. For if we look behind us, it will be impossible to plow a straight path in front of us – maybe even causing those plowing behind us to stumble as we stand still. The guarantee of a future harvest is the crying out, ‘give us this day our daily bread’. Looking back on old harvests will not satisfy the daily needs of sustainment.
In the ancient ways of plowing and sowing a field, the sower would often times broadcast the seed, while the plow hand comes behind, plowing in, covering up the seed with the dirt. We cannot survive today on past harvests, but only by working with the One who has gone before us, sowing the good seed. We must do our part in ensuring we plow ahead, covering up the seed, removing the rocks, thorns and clumps of “sin” in our field, in order for our future harvest to take root.
The daily walk with the Master is just that.. a walk. Messiah never came to grant our every wish! He is not our fairy god mother, but One that we must be in partner with in order to reap a harvest. He is our daily bread! Do you daily trust Him? Yes, He promises to supply our needs, however, dwelling upon past hopes, dreams and good times, if not left in their proper place, will destroy a persons ability to focus on what is ahead.
Once a race begins, does a runner, after running a quarter of a mile, turn around and go back to the starting line just to tell his/her family, “I’ll see you at the finish line?“ To follow the Master, requires us to remove any obstacle in our lives that will prevent us from running after Him…even if the obstacle is at the starting line.
Leaving the family, old relationships, and friendships to follow the Master is an issue of transferring who gets to have control over your life. Severing ties is about deciding who is your one and only Master. I’m sure when Elisha left to follow Elijah, he left on good terms with his own family. He merely decided that the call of Elohim on his life, was more important than even the blood ties of family. Elisha forsook the “past”, not his relationship with his parents. Remember, a relationship in your life should point you TO the Master, not take you FROM the Master!
Being sentimental rarely gets us to the finish line. Sentimentality is based upon wishy washy feelings that make us do crazy things – making it hard to say goodbye to the past. Recalling a great testimony of the past, for the sake of giving praise to Abba and helping others be encouraged, is not sentimentality. I am speaking to those of you who are on the journey, and your tired. The enemy begins to bombard your mind with the ‘remember when’ thoughts, all in an attempt to cause you to give up, and walk away.
Satan is merely doing his job of ‘wearing down’ the “saints.” He will use whatever tactic necessary to cause you to throw in the towel. There is a reason why thinking about the past is sometimes called, “visiting old haunts.” The mind is the master hologram machine, causing people to think the places, people and relationships of the past, are still in the exact position they were left in – thus making it easy to go back. Satan is the master illusionist, and the mind is the ‘volunteer from the audience.’
We must learn the difference in what to remember and what to forget. We must remember (never forgetting), the depths He has pulled us out of. For in forgetting where we came from, we begin losing the ability to trust in what He has promised us, pushing Him away to fend for ourselves – this is rebellion. We must remember the darkness He brought us out of, but we MUST forget the temporary pleasures the darkness held over us. It is why the Scriptures are filled with ‘remembering.’ Abba Father’s way of remembering causes our entire being to leap forward in truth, whereas Satan’s way of remembering, locks us away in a blissful moment in time, but once the smoke clears, we end up crying out for even the tip of our tongue to be satisfied with a drop of water.
If the future does not remain the future – a looking forward – it will slowly become the past – leaving nothing to look forward to – living only to repeat – running in a circle – never preparing for what is ahead.
“Remember When” is a voice we all hear. At times, we lose the clarity of who the voice belongs to. If you are looking at the same ole scenery, it is evident of who is speaking. Oh, it seems so easy at times to just enjoy the ‘benefits’ of prison. We are comfortable with knowing what is ‘just around the corner.’ However, Yahushua came to open the prison doors, and set the captives free.
The enemy does a fantastic job of convincing us that we are free already. The world today sees being set free as bondage, and being in bondage as set free. So, how do we tell the difference? How do we know if remembering the past will keep us locked up or set others free? What should I forget and what should I remember? The chaos of the age we live in amplifies the voice of the enemy, yet distracts us, distorting the clarity of, muffling the soft sweet voice of His Spirit. Night is fast approaching, and to hear Him clearly will take a keen discernment of the nature of the voice speaking. Father does not always speak loudly, but one thing is for certain: “Remember When” the last time you took a breath, and it will become clear of who you should be listening too.
Brothers, I do not count myself to have laid hold of it yet, but only this: forgetting what is behind and reaching out for what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of Elohim in Messiah Yahushua.
Philippians 3:13,14
Amen