I love a good book or movie that shows a character who is given a chance to go back in time. Movies like It’s A Wonderful Life, Groundhog Day and even silly shows like Hot Tub Time Machine can be parables that teach us the value of taking advantage of the do-overs that God offers us on a daily basis.
In the case of Hot Tub Time Machine, a character named Lou decides not to return to the present after he and his buddies are transported through time to a night that happened twenty years earlier. (This apparently is what happens when you pour an energy drink on the controls of a ski resort hot tub.) After reenacting the evening as their younger selves, the fellows eventually realize that they can return to the present by pouring another energy drink on the hot tub of their past. But Lou, now that he has had a chance to reflect on the last 20 years of his life, decides to remain in 1986 and try life again. He confesses that the carbon monoxide poisoning that landed him in the hospital in the beginning of the movie was actually a suicide attempt. When the others return, they live into an altered present that was changed by their going back in time. Many of their issues are resolved, and Lou took advantage of knowing what the “future” held by developing a company called Lougle, making him a millionaire.
What would you change if you could go back in time and do something over? What choices would you make the second time around?
One of the lessons here is to live well enough in the present so that you don’t need to go back and redo your actions. God is always using time to our advantage and offers an immediate reset anytime we confess and repent of our actions. As Moses wrote in Psalm 90, God has always been our help from forever in the past to forever in the future:
Psalm 90 (Common English Bible)
Lord, you have been our help,
generation after generation.
2 Before the mountains were born,
before you birthed the earth and the inhabited world—
from forever in the past
to forever in the future, you are God.
3 You return people to dust,
saying, “Go back, humans,”
4 because in your perspective a thousand years
are like yesterday past,
like a short period during the night watch.
.
12 Teach us to number our days
so we can have a wise heart.
So the better question is, what change can you make today that would be a better choice than what you chose yesterday? What could you redo right now that will make tomorrow an improvement for you and those around you?
God is able to help you grow a wise heart today if you’ll just let him.
Night Watch by Vic Woodall
At Water’s Edge 
This is a great thought and question, Pastor Betsy. There are a few decisions and actions from my past that I want to undo, but what would be the total impact? Knowing what I do now, I wouldn’t have married my first wife, but then my three adult sons wouldn’t be here.
So, I like your idea better. As Dolly Parton said, “If you don’t like the road you’re on, start paving another one.” And as Jesus said, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Blessings!
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I love your comment, my friend. And Dolly is always, ALWAYS right!
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Such a good question to begin the day. What would I change….hmm. I will change what comes out of my mouth unless it’s approved by the Holy Spirit. Listen more, talk less!
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Lordy, Girl! Even for Jesus, that’s a big ask, speaking for myself! The only time that worked well for me was when I had laryngitis!
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Such a good question to begin the day. What would I change….hmm. I will change what comes out of my mouth unless it’s approved by the Holy Spirit. Listen more, talk less!
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I would have sacrificed my life during 3 Vietnam tours so that someone else could have kept theirs. Think term is survivor’s guilt. B.
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Bill, I am so blessed to know you and selfishly speaking, I am glad the Lord never asked you for that particular sacrifice. You are a treasure.
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I wouldn’t change anything if it taught me a lesson I needed to learn, but I would want to change my response to many of life’s trials. I would forgive others more, and give life’s trials over right away to Jesus and leave them with Him. 🕊️🤍
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Ohh, I love this. Me, too.
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