Isaiah 61:4
“And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.”
One would think that the past can have no influence on the future, but when you look at the verse above you will see this is not true. God teaches us that when a person is filled with the Spirit of God, they will build that which was wasted and torn down. Notice, their future was to build the “old wastes.” In order to move forward they had to look back to see what “former desolations” they must rebuild. They must look at what the “waste cities” used to be in order to build the new city. Their future was the past.
One of the mistakes many commonly make in this day is that they want to forsake the past so we can have a better future. Friend, your future is only as bright as how much you desire the past. This is not to say that you are to live in the past, but I am saying that you must know what God did for them in the past so that you can continue to build it for your future. There are several statements I would like you to consider about the past.
First, the past is not as bad as you have heard. There are always going to be those who have bad feelings of the past, but what those in the past have done must be done again if our future is going to be bright. Okay, so those in the past are not perfect. Let me ask you, do you think those in our present day are perfect? Everybody is going to do wrong, but don't throw out everything from those whom God used in the past just because you see their flaws. If you want God to use you in a mighty way, you are going to have to look to the past and realize that what they did is what gave you what you have. Don't ruin your future because you refuse to look to the past.
Second, the past will tell you what you need to be today. They had to look at the foundations of the past in order to rebuild the “former desolations.” You may think that the past methods are obsolete, but the past methods are as relevant today as they were then. Don't think those methods won’t still build lives. If they built lives in the past, they will build lives today.
Third, when I study the past it will give me clarity as to what I should do today. The only way I am to know where I should stand today is to study the past in light of the Scriptures. The only way I can know how to apply the Scriptures today is to study how they applied the Scriptures in the past. The past is what gives me clarity as to what I should do right now. If I forsake the past, I will not have any clarity as to what I should do in the immediate.
Let me encourage you to become a student of the past. It is not that we need to live in the past, but the past will help you to know how you should live and what you should do today to help your future tomorrow. Don't be so desirous to be innovative that you forsake what those in the past have taught us by the example of God’s Word. The best innovation will be based upon the principles of the past. Let the past be your guide to the future so that the Holy Spirit will help you to repair and build that which has been torn down because of sin.