Nostalgia is an interesting phenomenon. You know, that feeling you get when you hear a song from “your era,” whenever that was. Maybe you see clothing fashion come back in style. You could see a clip from a movie, and it takes you back to a timeframe in your life. It is usually never about that one thing you experience, but it encapsulates an emotion that is hard to describe. We all have nostalgia for certain things, and we know other people have it, but it is impossible to fully appreciate someone else’s nostalgic feeling. Did you know there is a clear example of nostalgia in the Bible?

I encourage you to read the entire thirteenth chapter of Genesis, but the point we will discuss is found in Genesis 13:10-11. This passage describes when Abram and Lot are experiencing heightened tension. Abram and Lot had growing businesses, and the resources were running out, so it was time to separate. Abram suggested that Lot choose the best for him and take work in that land, then Abram would go the other direction. It is here that we see Lot has a moment of nostalgia, “Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt” (Gen 13:10). Did you catch that? Lot looked around and the land he saw reminded him of the “land of Egypt.” Lot must have enjoyed his time in Egypt when he went there with Abram during a famine (Gen 12:10). Egypt was an escape from their real famine, but Lot took a long look back and escaped his current stressors.

We all have a metaphorical “Egypt” from our past. Abram, rather than Lot, provides an example of pressing forward to his purpose instead of looking back for previous pleasures. Which will you choose when things get tense and stressful?