I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.
Psalm 143: 5
Looking back is something we’re often told not to do. Dwelling on mistakes we’ve made or thinking about how someone wronged us can be detrimental, as it can keep us imprisoned to the past rather than moving forward.
However, looking back can be beneficial in certain circumstances. Remembering the uncomfortable consequences of past sins can prevent us from engaging in those sinful habits again. Looking back is also helpful when we need a faith boost or when we feel as if our prayers aren’t being answered.
Sickness, stress, loss, and dealing with an onslaught of bad news can blind us to all the good we’ve experienced throughout the course of our lives. We can become so focused on our uncomfortable and painful circumstances that we can’t see beyond them.
Even if we’re not in a season of suffering, the aging process can make remembering the details of the past a challenge. The older I get, the more I realize the importance of writing things down. I’m often surprised when I glance back over my journals and see the things I’ve forgotten.
In scripture, we see God instructing his people to document his divine intervention. In Joshua 4: 4-7, God instructed the people to take stones from the riverbed they had crossed to be used as a reminder of his faithfulness to his people and as a witness for future generations. There are several other examples in scripture where God’s people took care to document his divine provision.
Documenting God’s provision can strengthen our faith in those dry times when we can’t see what God is doing. But more importantly, documenting the greatness of God and his amazing provision can give a future generation a reason to trust God and praise him.
Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.
Psalm 102: 18
I encourage you to start writing down your God moments in a journal or in your Bible. I often come across prayers in my Bible that were written years ago. They strengthen my faith and remind me to keep walking with God, no matter what. Nearly a decade ago, when my husband abandoned me and our family, I made a timeline to document God’s faithfulness. This timeline reveals a beautiful tapestry of God moments woven throughout my sorrow in the most unusual and unexpected ways to provide for my needs. Looking at that timeline gave me hope when all hope seemed lost.
From my smallest desires to my most desperate needs, I’ve recorded God’s faithfulness in journals and in various bibles I’ve used. Some are even recorded on scraps of paper. One of the prayers I jotted down while at work one day was for a selfish desire. I wanted to work from home. Going to an office to work was difficult for a homebody like me. I felt like I was imprisoned in a cubicle, and the clock seemed to never move. My heart’s desire was to write for a living, but I just didn’t have the courage to make the move. I was afraid I would fail. One day at work, I wrote the following prayer in my notebook.
Lord, I’m sitting here at my desk while the rain falls outside. I keep thinking about my home office – cozy, inviting, warm, familiar. I imagine the colorful leaves falling outside my window in the mountain. I imagine how the splattering of rain against my home office window would sound as I gazed out over the mountain. A pot of soup would simmer downstairs on the stove, wafting up the steps. I would be sipping my tea, writing stories – content, happy, free. Lord, how I long to be there. How I miss my little home office in the woods.
Journal excerpt, 10-23-12
About a year after I wrote that, God intervened and brought me home. As the result of an injury, and being wheel chair bound for three months, I lost my job. The loss of my job was scary. I had no idea how things would work out, but God did. I had little money, and being unable to drive I had to find a way to make money from home. My husband had left me, I lived alone, and my job was terminated. Things looked pretty dismal.
However, my freelance writing career was launched at that time. The road was long and difficult, but God provided. I remember one morning, as I was typing an article for a very low paying job, I felt the craziest sense of joy and contentment. Not only did being at home allow me to spend more time with God in prayer and scripture reading, I was doing a job I loved, even if the money wasn’t much in the beginning.
Many other testimonies of God’s faithfulness are written in my journals and Bible. They span decades of life. Looking back fills me with joy, as I’m once again astounded by the magnitude of God’s love and provision. During the month of November, I’m going to share a few of these documented accounts of God intervening in my life in a Thanksgiving series of blog posts. Stay tuned…
It’s never too late to start documenting your personal miracles. No God moment is too insignificant. Whether you decide to make a timeline, write in a journal or your Bible, or even on a scrap of paper, keeping a record of God’s blessings can give you the courage to keep going when life falls apart and you struggle to see anything good.
What will you document today that may encourage a future generation to believe and trust in the God you love?
