Remembering, Journaling & Thankfulness
….. Embracing REALITY…..Training to Fight !
This paper tries to focus on the crucial place Remembering has in our lives! Remembering what God has done for us and Who He has revealed Himself to be is essential for living healthy life. Consider the example of Israel in the Old Testament. When Israel forgot God and the things He had done for them they fell into defeat, bondage and sin. When they neglected to remember the acts of God for them in the past their active faith in the present waned and grew weaker! Neglect, that is all it was. They got passive about God. They didn't cultivate a remembrance of God's working in the past that would have inspired their faith in Him for the present! It was just laziness or casualness with God's efforts on their behalf. Don't we do the same thing? What if you were 'indifferent' towards the man or woman you planned to marry? "Yea, she is alright... but I don't think about her often." That relationship is in big trouble. But often that is how we treat God!
It was only a few years ago that I made a bullet point list of some of the things that God has done for me. As I drew up the list I was amazed. My faith grew that God cared about me and would help me with my present struggles, fears and weaknesses. Since He did all that for me, I bet He will help me now too! Then I realized that thankfulness and gratitude were on my tongue instead of complaining and bitterness!
1. Remember God's Goodness to you - search your life from your early years to the present
2. Make notes of these events (try to include some specific details)
3. Notice your faith in God come alive and thankful words appear in your mouth.
One of the greatest limitations of the human mind is the ability to remember. We forget so many things. So many people want to know that God is real or they want to feel 'close' or personal with Jesus. Often, however, they feel distant from God the Father. Similarly, is clear that Israel failed to trust God and had to wander aimlessly in the desert for 40 years. Why? They did not remember all that God had done for them in Egypt and on the way. At first we may think these things are totally unrelated. But perhaps not. This paper tries to show that when we remember the acts of God in our lives we will feel more personally connected to Jesus and we will not wander aimlessly in life.
1. Remembering
There is a link between Remembering God's actions in the past and obedience today:
Moses tells the Israelites to remember what they saw God do with 'their own eyes.' He says this is verses 1 thru 7. Then he delivers the punch line in verse 8. "Therefore obey God so that you can go in and get what God has promised you!" The "Therefore" is present to say, "Since He's done these things AND you remember them.... Go in and get what He has promised you!" Remembering is a way of fighting so that your faith rises and you get what God has for you! For the Israelites the promise was the new land that God was giving them. What is it for you?
"Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country; what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the LORD brought lasting ruin on them... But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the LORD has done. Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess..."
Deuteronomy 11:1-8
There is a link between Remembering God's actions in the past and continuing in Relationship with Him:
Here Moses tells the Israelites not to forget God, especially after God gives them success and abundance of food and wealth. And in the end, if they forget God, they will worship worthless idols. Remembrance keeps the focus on God and not our present suffering, difficulty or problem. (Which He will overcome anyway as we continue in relationship with Him). Focus is so crucial an issue. It is crucial for this reason: Focus is worship! What we worship is what we become like. ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 - we become similar to what we meditate on, we become what we behold) That is why God wants us to focus on Him.... so that we will become like Him. Fear makes a counter demand; focus on it instead of God. Fear, depression and despair scream at us to focus on them. Satan does this to make us like him.
Let me be clear: We need to be aware of our problems. However, spend 10% of your time focusing on your problem and 90% of your time on Jesus and His goodness, healing and victory will come infinitely sooner. Being focused on yourself and your problems is called "self analyzing" and is a favorite of psychology and world culture today.
"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed."
Deuteronomy 8:10-20
There is a link between Remembering where you began and what God had done for you since that will empower you to trust and obey Him today:
The Ten Commandments spoken from God on the mountain to the people (Exodus 19 & Deuteronomy 4:12,33) direct the people to take a day a week off to rest and have connection with God and their families. After God tells the Israelites to do this He says to remember where they came from. They were slaves in Egypt but He rescued them! In other words He says, "Do this because you remember where you came from and what I have done for you.! That will keep you safe."
"Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day."
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
Secondly, God speaks to King David and reminds David of who he was and what He has done for David. He reminds David that he was tending the sheep on the back side of some hill before He made David ruler over the people of Israel. This reflection is for us too. Remember who you were before God adopted you in Jesus. Now look back over the years of real relationship with Him and see how you have grown! Look at the fruit. See who you were when He called you compared with who you are now. Your heart will grow with gratitude and your faith will increase.
"Now then, tell my servant David, `This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men of the earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning..."
I Chronicles 17:7-9
2. Journaling
Making notes about the things God has done in your life will deepen this act of Remembrance:
Identify Events in your life when you could see God's activity:
Encounters with God - Enc
Times that a Bible verses has been 'alive' for you - God speaking right through the word
Times when God has spoken to your heart
Times when you have felt His love, peace or His very Presence
Dreams that you know were from Him
Answered Prayers - AP
List them out... remember what you prayed for that has been answered
Words that someone has given you from the Lord or you have heard personally from God - W
Provided - Prov (things that God has provided)
Friends
Money, Jobs, etc...
Healing - Physical or emotional
Protection - Prot (things that God has protected you from)
From accidents
From car wrecks
From bad relationships
From Abuse (mental or physical)
Events that let you know He is near - E
He helped me find my keys that time they were really lost
He got me to the right place at the right time to have such and such opportunity
I was walking through a parking lot and such and such happened
I put abbreviations next to each category because I went through several of my journals and found events that were significant in my history with God. Then I put an abbreviation next to the journal entry that described how God had related to me. Later I went back and made a list of all the times Jesus had protected me from bodily harm. Another time I went back and collected all the things that I thought God had said to me through other people and what I heard in my own heart! It is amazing when you see all those words over the year come together on one piece of paper. It also makes you feel close to Jesus because you see reality. You also realize that He is really involved daily in your life.! Try it.
3. Thankfulness:
Acknowledging the reality of God's action in our lives:
It is a fact that when you look around at life and begin to thank God for the things that are going right, things that have been provided and the good things in life you instantly feel closer to Jesus. Why? Because for a moment you have acknowledged reality - the things that God has done for you. Mostly human nature focuses on what is wrong at the moment instead of anything that is going right or anything good that has happened in the past. Instantly all is forgotten except the 1, 2 or 3 things that are going wrong right now.
This was difficult for me at first. I felt like I was making things up. But then I realized that I was just thanking God for ALL the things that I was taking for granted! My health, my family, my friends, my food, my car, my job, having a sane mind, etc.... etc... and the list goes on. A whole host of things were going right. This act of Thankfulness is closely tied to remembering. We are remembering all that the Good God has done for us.
Examples:
Other ways you can Remind yourself of what God has done:
Hang Butcher Paper or Poster Boards on your walls with your Reminders
Design a list of Reminders with your computer, print it out and laminate it in plastic and hang it in the shower
Put one event, word, encounter, protection or provision on 3x5 Cards - flip through them at work
Choose something and make it your screen saver - there is a text option for the screen saver
Choose some things to remember and make them into a image that you can use as your computer wallpaper
Abbreviations from my Journal:
Enc - Encounters with God
AP - Answered Prayers
W- Words that the Lord speaks to me or through others for me
Prov - Things that God has provided for me
Prot - Things that God has protected me from
E - Significant Events that have occurred between myself and God
Conclusion:
In this paper I looked at Remembering because the Bible says that Israel (and therefore Christians also) lost out with God because they would not Remember what God had previously done for them or done with them. They received less from God because they did not recall His blessings from the past. Remembering is intimately tied to maintaining daily active connection with God. Why? Because, as you are moving forward in God there is always resistance. There are always doubts, fears, negative emotions and distracting thoughts that try to block our path. However, if we remain FOCUSED on Jesus and His provision for us in the past we will be filled with faith to press forward in the present. Journaling or note taking will deepen this act of Remembrance. Often we will remember things much better after we have written them down. This note taking of God's activity in our lives usually results in a welling up of thankfulness and praise to God. And that is worship!
Do a quick list of the things you are thankful for - God's provision, God's Words to you, God's protection, His Answered Prayer: Do this now! Don't put it off a second. Your faith in Him will grow if you do this and Remember .....
