Looking Back or Looking Forward?
The book of Ezra gives us the account of how the people of Israel returned from exile in Babylon when the Persians conquered Babylon, and King Cyrus gave the decree for them to go and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. It was a glorious time for the people after 70 long years in another land. They returned with resources to do the rebuilding, and the foundation had to be laid first. When it was completed, there was a great cry that went up from the older people who had seen the splendor of the previous temple, but there are loud shouts of joy from the others who were eagerly working to restore God's House. (Ezra 3:12) One group looked back, the other looked forward. That made all of the difference.
Some people are always looking back on "the good ole days." They want to go back a relive the glorious past. All they can think about is how they dislike the way things are now compared to how they were then. In reality, the good ole days were never as good as they seem to have been. There were still troubles, and things we not perfect. There were even people back then who were longing for their past to be repeated. It is a frame of mind that brings nothing but dissatisfaction and inaction. It brings mourning and crying like happened in the rebuilding of the temple foundation.
Then, there are the forward thinkers. The ones who look forward to the future with anticipation of how much better it can be if we all work together to do God's will. The people who look forward have positive attitudes and a "can do" spirit. They are the ones who rejoice in small victories, while striving to do God's will better and better. They are the ones who shout loudly with joy when they see God working.
Which group are you in? It is up to you, but life is too short to live it looking back with a bad attitude. It is so much better to look forward with a hopeful, positive spirit.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezra 4-7.
Some people are always looking back on "the good ole days." They want to go back a relive the glorious past. All they can think about is how they dislike the way things are now compared to how they were then. In reality, the good ole days were never as good as they seem to have been. There were still troubles, and things we not perfect. There were even people back then who were longing for their past to be repeated. It is a frame of mind that brings nothing but dissatisfaction and inaction. It brings mourning and crying like happened in the rebuilding of the temple foundation.
Then, there are the forward thinkers. The ones who look forward to the future with anticipation of how much better it can be if we all work together to do God's will. The people who look forward have positive attitudes and a "can do" spirit. They are the ones who rejoice in small victories, while striving to do God's will better and better. They are the ones who shout loudly with joy when they see God working.
Which group are you in? It is up to you, but life is too short to live it looking back with a bad attitude. It is so much better to look forward with a hopeful, positive spirit.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezra 4-7.