WHY WERE THE OLD DAYS BETTER THAN TODAY?

Ecclesiastes 7:10 NIV Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.

I think we are all familiar with the phrase “the good old days”.  We reminisce with old friends and family, look at old pictures, and remember the good old days.  It usually brings a smile to our face, and maybe even a little sigh, as we remember those days.

But why does Solomon have this word of wisdom - "Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions”?"

Look at the question Solomon wrote carefully – “why were the old days BETTER THAN THESE”.  This is not just reminiscing about the good old days.  It’s about looking at the old days, comparing it today, and complaining about why "today" is not good, or as good as the past.  That’s when it is wise NOT to look back at the old days – when it brings sadness, bitterness and complaint, rather than THANKSGIVING for what God is doing today, no matter what it is that we are facing.

Solomon actually continued:

Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 NIV (13) Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? (14) When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.

The God many believe in is actually a servant, rather than a Sovereign King.  If we believe that our God is a wise and sovereign God, then we believe that everything that happens to us is in His control.  When we look at the past and wonder why the present is not as good, we question the sovereignty of God’s working in our life.  Yes, we pray for a straight path, but there will be times when God will bring a crooked road for us to travel in.  Instead of trying to straighten it, we should just trust God to see us through every twist and turn, and let Him straighten our hearts through the process.

What happened in the past has passed.  Today’s circumstances are another chapter in our life.  And, we have no idea what God is doing to do in our future.  It is always best to set our hearts on God who is sovereign over every step that we take, that we see that the God who was with us in the past is the same God who is with us today, and who holds our future.  No matter what we experienced in the past, what we are going through today, and what the future will hold for us, our God will never leave us or forsake us.

How can we be assured that our days are really in His hands?

Romans 8:31-32 NIV What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? (32) He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

 For some of us the “good old days” were actually not good.  But, in reality, all of us have gone astray from the presence of God in our life.  This is what makes us sinners.

But God sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins, that we may be reconciled to Him.  When we trust Him as our Savior, and He becomes the Lord of our life, our lives are now in His hands.

Romans 8:35-39 NIV Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? (36) As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." (37) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (38) For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, (39) neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And that’s how we know that, no matter how our past was, what we are experiencing now, or what we will face in the future, God’s love in Christ Jesus will see us through.