Lighthouse Keeper

There’s an old timey Christian saying that “the devil will offer you your past”. 

I was trying to think if there were any Scriptures that support this idea?

The most obvious one is the Hebrew nation’s journey through the wilderness and when they tried to return to Egypt under the leadership of Moses and Aaron in Numbers 14:1-4. 

Remember, the Hebrew people had been slaves in Egypt but they longed for the perceived security of the familiar. In Exodus 16:3, they romanticise the past, dramatically wishing the Lord had killed them in Egypt where at least they had meat to eat and other food they wanted. As slaves, this scenario was unlikely but their fixation on what was behind kept them from moving in faith toward the Promised Land. 

A New Testament example that springs to mind in John 21:3 when Peter denies Christ three times “I am going fishing” Simon Peter said. God is calling Peter forward to follow him but instead he chooses to return to what he knows, the comfortable pair of shoes found in his fishing job. 

We all do this- texting the old boyfriend, hanging out with people God has removed from your life, nostalgia over an old job, nostalgia over an old city you lived in when you were younger. Left unchecked, it can lead to dangerous decisions like leaving a marriage, job, or responsibilities God has given to you. Living in whimsy for the past also robs you of the “daily bread” and “daily grace” that God supplies to his children.

Change is hard. Change is unfamiliar and can be scary but the simple command of Jesus to follow me is the true essence of the Christian daily walk. The follow me is always forward and not backward. We see this again in Matthew 8:21 when a disciple asks Jesus if he can go back and bury his father.

But Jesus said to him “follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead” Matthew 8:22

Jesus’ place is with the spiritually alive and not with the dead. He’s always reminding us to keep moving forward on our journey Home. 

Yes, the devil will offer you your past-because he wants you to turn back and miss out on the Promised Land of Jesus. The old timey Christians were right 😉