When we’re faced with challenges and obstacles in our lives, it’s easy to worry. For me, anyway. That’s part of why I was happy to come across this video on Facebook this morning. It’s full of reminders about who God is, and remembering that, as a Christian, is the best way I can think of to overcome fears of all kinds. Whatever you face, God’s got everything–you included–in the palm of his hand!
Remembering what God has done in the past helps me, too.
Deuteronomy 8:2-4 says, “And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.” (ESV)
God did good things and provided everything his people needed, but he did so in the midst of a challenging situation that he purposely put them in for their own good. This chapter is full of reminders to the Israelites about what God did for them in the past and how that should affect their behavior in the future–namely, they should trust him enough to obey him.
This is true of us today, too. Jesus died on the cross in order to have a relationship with you, and because of that, we know we can trust and obey him no matter what he brings into our lives. But I’m willing to bet there are other events that occurred during your lifetime that you can look back on, too.
It’s no secret that I’m getting ready to attend a writer’s conference. I’m a little anxious about representing my writing to editors while I’m among such a crowd of other wonderful writers. But when I remember how far God has brought me, the blessings and lessons along the way, I find my confidence in him renewed.
It’s a mix of little and bigger things… The time a theater group visited my school and chose the skit I wrote to act out from among the crowd. The time a critique partner said they got so caught up in the story that they didn’t make many comments on what I ought to change. The time a literary agent believed in my work enough to represent it. The time I placed in that contest.
But, like the Israelites, some of those blessings came with a wilderness attached. Hard events in my life have also shaped me. Looking back, I can see the blessing of those. And if God brings good through the times when I’m challenged or feeling a little lost in my own personal wilderness, I can go into this conference knowing that whatever God has for me, it’s for the best.
If I take the time to remember, my own life story instills me with confidence in who God is, what he’s done, and how very faithful and loving he is.
What work have you seen God do in your own personal past with your own eyes that can bolster your belief in what he’s going to do in your future?
Photo Credit: Unsplash.com, kazuend
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