Toilet Paper Trees

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Often times we remember the past, some memories are good some aren’t but regardless we have a tendency to hang on to the past rather than let go. Writing new chapters involves closing old ones, and that process is scary because of the unknown but rest assured God knows and thats what we need to trust.

Transcript

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Hey friends, thanks for joining me for today's episode of Unfiltered with Jesse B. Before I get started, a quick shout-out recognizing new listeners in Chandler, Arizona, and St. Charles, Missouri. If anyone listening enjoys this content and knows of others who would too, go ahead and share it with them. And if you haven't subscribed, please do so, and that way you won't miss any future episodes. So a funny story, I was driving by the high school on the way to work this morning, and uh from the distance it looked like white ribbons streaming from the trees. And I thought, well, since it's graduation in a few days, it might have been decoration for pictures. But the closer I got to the campus, I said to myself, this is not ribbon streaming from the trees, rather, it's toilet paper. And not just on the trees, but on the mascot and on the railings going up to the main entrance of the school and that kind of stuff was just everywhere. So needless to say, I got a good chuckle out of all of that. And well, I laughed out loud all the way to work. I didn't just chuckle, but I learned just a few minutes later after I had passed the scene that uh one of my friends whose son is a student there said that it was a senior prank. And no, it wasn't her son that was involved. He's not a senior this year. But anyway, I drive by that high school going back and forth to work, and especially this time of year, I often think back to 1994 when I graduated from that same high school. So in a 32-year span from 94 to now, there's many things that I wish I would have done differently, including some things I wish I wouldn't have done at all, but hindsight is always 2020. And while it's okay to reminisce and reflect on the past from time to time, it's important to know that there is a difference between reflecting and trying to live in the past. Isaiah forty three, eighteen through nineteen, God says, Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. See, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth. Shall you not be aware of it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Ecclesiastes seven ten says, Do not say why were the earlier days better than these days? For it's not from wisdom that you inquire this. In Luke 9, 62, Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. So obviously, God does take looking back on the past very seriously. I think of Genesis nineteen and the account of Lot's wife who looked back at Sodom and Gomorrah as those cities were being destroyed by God. And on the surface, it might seem that God had a bit acting a bit extreme with Lot's wife, but I do not think it was so much the act of looking back as much as it was the reason why she looked back. And the reason she looked back is not hard to understand when you think about it, and often we look back on things longing for the familiar. And in her case, as bad as those cities were, she still had a home there. She still knew what it was like and what to expect. As strange as that sounds, she had security in the familiar, but that security was to the point of idolatry. In other words, trusting God for the known and not trusting him for the unknown. Now I've heard this phenomenon explained using Adam and Eve as an example. After Adam and Eve sinned, they were banished from the Garden of Eden, and from that point forward everything, even nature, was turned against them, and they had to work very hard to get a glimpse of the life that they once knew in the Garden of Eden. And that longing for the familiar and the security is still a part of our DNA today. And it's not far-fetched to theorize this, especially when the sin nature is part of our DNA that was passed down from Adam and Eve. Now, I'll be the first to admit I see short videos on Instagram about life in the 80s and 90s, and I think they even have some in the 70s using AI to recreate what homes and vehicles look like and clothing styles, music, and the foods that we ate. And I tear up just a little bit sometimes, just depending on how sentimental I'm feeling when I'm watching those. And it's a natural human emotion to long for the past, but trying to hang on to it can actually demonstrate a lack of faith and therefore create a hindrance to our relationship with God. And I'll explain it this way. I was boarding a plane on a recent flight, and the attendant said hello and welcome aboard, I think it was Southwest Airlines or no, it might have been the Legion Airlines, but nevertheless. Welcome aboard, and then she looked me up and down with a surprised look on her face, and she quickly asked, Do you not have any luggage? And I said, I do, but since I'm on a direct flight, I check my luggage. So I guess this particular flight attendant just thought it was unusual that I came on board empty-handed. Not even a purse, which I mean I never carry a purse anyway, and trust me, I've gotten rasped by many of my friends and family throughout the years for not carrying one, while they have a tendency to lose more stuff than I do. But anyway, I like to travel light, and it's just easier for me to get around without that extra weight and space and worry of where everything is. And even though I know they can easily lose your luggage on a direct flight just like they can on connecting flights, but my Apple Air tag was in that bag, so I knew exactly where it was at all times. But I say that to say this, that Jesus wants our luggage. Not only does he want our luggage, he knows exactly what to do with it, where it is, and because he knows where we came from, where we are, and where we are headed. And while it's okay to learn from the past, we don't have to be weighted down by it. Matthew 11 28, Jesus said, Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is comfortable and my burden is light. In First Corinthians 5 17, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation. The old is passed away, and behold, the new has come. Just some verses to think about as we continue on our journey, and especially this time of year where a lot of uh chapters are closing and new ones are waiting to be written. So, anyway, I love you guys. Thanks for listening, and God bless.