Psalm 137:1
“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.”
As Israel sat captive in Babylon, all they did was talk about what it used to be like. They reminisced about their homeland and what it used to be like. The time of reminiscing caused them to do nothing. In fact, it says that they hung their “harps upon the willows.” They got to the point when they were asked to sing one of the songs of Zion that they responded in verse 4, “How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?” They thought that all they had left were memories.
The mistake these people made was that while they reminisced about the past, they were not making any new memories for the present. Memories don’t produce memories. I’m glad they had memories of what Zion used to be like, but as long as they sat there reminiscing about what it used to be like, they were wasting time that God could use to do something through them in the present.
When you continue studying the Scriptures, there were two men who decided not to live in memory lane. Those men were Ezra and Nehemiah. These two men believed God could still do something, and He eventually used them to rebuild the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. Instead of letting their memories rob memories for the future, they became proactive and trusted that God could still make memories in the present.
There are far too many Christians who talk about the “good ole days” as if God can’t do anything today. Youth get tired of hearing about those days because they want to see God do something today. They hear how good things were in the past and how terrible it is today, and become frustrated because their elders only talk about their memories. While the older generations talk about what it used to be like in the past, they are sadly doing nothing today to make memories for the future.
Memories are a wonderful thing to have, but memories are to challenge and not discourage. We can talk about how God did something in the past, but is He no longer able to do something today? Can God no longer build great churches today? Can God no longer heal the sick? Can God no longer provide financially? Can God no longer save souls by the hundreds and even thousands? Can God no longer bring the prodigal back home? Can God no longer part the Red Sea’s or the Jordan River’s? Has God lost His power that He can no longer do what He used to do? Is God a God of the past or is He the God of the present and future?
Friend, it is time to rise up and stop letting memories rob you of future memories. God can still do a work today, but His people must stop living in the past and start doing something today. The whole reason God did something in the past is because people were actively doing something where He would get involved. God can still do everything today that He did in the past, it’s just up to you to put Him to the test.
Don’t rob the younger generations of memories because of your lack of faith. Don’t let laziness and complacency keep the younger generations from having memories of God working. Get busy and do something for God. He is still able to perform great things today to give memories for tomorrow.