My husband Kenya and I talk all the time. He really is my best friend. The two of us especially enjoy looking back on where we’ve been, what we’ve learned and how we’ve grown over the years.
Well, the other day, the conversation turned toward our early years of marriage. We were so in love and so broke.
The two of us truly know the meaning of hard times.
I’m talking only-bread-and-butter-or-potatoes-to-eat kind of hard times. Sometimes, Kenya and I didn’t even have any money to add some sweetness to that bland meal with so much as a cup of Kool-Aid. That would have meant having money to buy sugar!
Some of you reading this blog post don’t know what struggle looks like…oh but we do.
And every once in a while, we just sit and reminisce. We laugh at the things that weren’t funny at the time they were happening and ponder the lessons learned from each experience.
Do you ever do that?
If not, you should.
When you look retrospectively on obstacles that seemed insurmountable at one point and see that you have overcome them, it fuels your faith. When you recognize that you’re now walking in places from which you were once restricted, you see God’s favor on your life and rejoice.
That’s why I recommend that you take a look back once in a while at where God has brought you from. If you don’t, your blessings will become commonplace in your mind and you’ll begin taking things for granted.
You won’t stop to think about how yesterday’s prayers are today’s reality. You’ll miss the revelation that what you used to view as a dream is now the destiny you’re walking in.
Worst of all, if you never take any strolls down memory lane you’ll miss numerous opportunities to meditate on the greatness of our God, who is ever faithful to keep His word. He opens doors no man can shut; makes ways out of no way; and gives provision for the vision He has implanted in your heart.
To remind you to use hindsight as insight into all the ways God has made room for you to live out your purpose, I’m stirring Joshua 4:1-7 NIV into your cup of inspiration. It takes you back to the time when Joshua led the Children of Israel as they miraculously crossed the Jordan River. God told Joshua to have the men use 12 stones to build a “memorial to the people of Israel forever.” So when their children saw the monument and asked the meaning of it, their ancestors could tell them all about the great miracle God had performed.
When you drink down the contents of your cup, you’ll be reminded that your memory is your confirmation that you have a future and a hope in God. Your “mental memorials” or flashbacks from yesteryear tell the story of a mighty God who is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20 NIV).
Now let’s pray.
God, when times get hard I cannot see my future clearly, but I can remember my past vividly and all the ways You have brought me over, out, and through. Please help me never allow the difficulty of my present circumstances, to block out the view of my past victories, or the promise of a bright future. Let me not forget all You have done for me or cease to believe that You have a good plan for my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
