Remembering God's Faithfulness

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. - Psalm 77:11-12

During the summer before my senior year of high school, I started keeping a prayer journal. Over the past decade, I’ve filled one notebook after another with all kinds of prayers - grateful prayers, help-seeking prayers, heartbroken prayers, lonely prayers, excited prayers, angry prayers, and everything in between.

As I was writing down all of these prayers over the past decade, something amazing began to happen. I started to realize that all this time, I had been compiling a record of God’s faithfulness in my life. All I had to do was pick up one of the journals and start reading to see how God had been moving and working as I was pouring my heart out to Him on those pages.

For instance, I can go back and read each of the entries I wrote after being turned down for seven job opportunities in a row, and then read on to see what He taught me as a result of facing so much rejection. I can read the prayers I wrote about wanting to reconcile with my best friend, and then turn a few pages to see how God miraculously restored our friendship to be even stronger than it was before.

I could list so many more examples of the stories I’ve seen God write in my life so far, but you get the picture. What I want you to understand is that one of the toughest parts of navigating the unexpected is dealing with so much uncertainty. When life doesn’t go according to plan, we feel like we’re walking down a dark staircase, and we’re not sure where it’s leading us. And when we find ourselves in these uncertain times, it can be extremely tempting to begin to doubt God. We find ourselves starting to ask questions like:

“If God really loves me and has a plan for me, why did things have to turn out this way?”

“What if the wait doesn’t end up being worth it?”

“How come everyone else’s life is turning out great while I seem to be stuck in a holding pattern?"

“What if God doesn’t come through like I hope He will?”

When these questions start to creep up, it’s so important that we don’t succumb to the doubt they’re trying to plant in our souls. For doubts are nothing but pesky, unwanted weeds that, if left unattended, will overpower all of the hope, faith, and perseverance you’ve spent years planting and nurturing.

This is where remembering God’s faithfulness is so important. When you make a point to remember God’s faithfulness in your past circumstances, you’ll be less likely to give into the temptation to doubt God’s goodness. You can say, “I’ve seen God come through for me before, and I’m trusting Him to come through for me again.” It sounds simple, but this act of remembering is an absolute game changer.

So I would encourage you, if you haven’t already, to find a way to take note of and remember God’s faithfulness. Take pictures, make a playlist, record voice memos, or keep a prayer journal like me. No matter which method you choose, I can promise you that down the road, you’ll be so grateful you have a record of the Lord’s faithfulness and goodness in your life.