“Faith is nothing at all tangible. It is simply believing God; and, like sight, it is nothing apart from its object.”
Hannah Whitall Smith
John and I recently reflected on how God has rescued us in the past from situations that imploded. In God’s kindness, our heavenly Father removed us from circumstances prior to their falling apart. God not only did this to protect us, but to preserve our hearts from taking up offense. It was a way our Father kept our hearts pure. Our reflections on our experience with God in the past, builds our faith in how God will respond in the future. Just as we most likely know how our friends, whom we have history with, will react to a situation, so too our past God encounters, will assure us of His response in the times ahead.
Remembrance of our history with God solidifies our trust in God for the future. When the Psalmist David faced Goliath, he recalled how God helped him kill a lion and a bear. It was David’s past history with God which gave him faith that God would come through for him when faced with an enemy giant.
God instructed the Israelites to take up large stones from the middle of the Jordan river and to carry them on their shoulder into the Promise Land. The memorial stones were a sign, or proof of who God is and what He did for them in the past, not only for them to remember, but for their offspring as well. Our history with God becomes the seedbed of faith for our children and grandchildren.
Even in our most painful moments, remembering how God was with us, will give us hope and comfort for our future trials in life. One reason I journal how I have encountered God, is to build my faith for when I’ll need it in the future. My journal entries are like deposits in my faith bank, so when it comes time to make a withdrawal, I’ll have what is necessary to believe.
Take time to reflect upon who God has been in your life. “I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Thy wonders” (Psalm 9:1). Remember your former times with God and allow it to forge a pillar of faith within your heart. Let faith, from your history with God, help you believe and have confidence in how He will come through for you in the future.
“Faith is what you have in the absence of knowledge.”
Mary Flannery O’Connor
Relevant Reflections:
How can what you’ve learned from your past history with God, affect a present situation?
What steps can you take to build your faith?