If it is mandated, then God has made provision for us to fulfill that admonition. The Christian has two sources of power by which God is able to work in our lives - the filling of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. When we walk by faith under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, we can recall to our thinking the Scriptures that we have learned and believed and apply them in life. The result will be contentment of soul in the adversities and difficulties of life. Many times we are faced with decisions that mark a significant change in our lives or the lives of others. How we respond to these significant times reveals what is in our thinking. The Hebrew scribe Ezra records the thinking of the people as they left the Babylonian captivity and began rebuilding the Temple of God in Jerusalem. Those who were older in age remembered the glory of Solomon’s temple. The younger generation had never seen it. The emotions were mixed as the people began to accomplish the task of rebuilding.
“And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:”(Ezra 3:10 -12)
The young men rejoiced, the older men wept. Both of those emotions are understandable yet very different in how they will affect the days that lie ahead. We can live in the past, always saying the “good old days” or we can live in the reality of the present and benefit with gratitude from God’s provision for the now. One is a discouragement, the other is an encouragement.