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I am talking about five faith builders. Five things that are essential to build and grow our faith. Yesterday’s faith builder was trust and today’s faith builder is, remember.
I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to be very forgetful. Just the other day I was trying to get out the door for work when I started frantically looking for my car keys. I looked high and low and for the life of me I could not recall where I put them. I was going to be late for my meeting and not remembering where I put my keys put me in a panic. Have you ever been there? The point is, sometimes, we are forgetful.
That happens in our faith too. We can be so fixed on our current circumstances, and especially when things are not going the way we planned, we forget God’s faithfulness. In challenging times, we can fail to recognize that the God who was with us before is still present amidst our current hardship. We get spiritual amnesia.
I am reminded of Psalm 103 where King David instructs his heart to remember.
Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
David is preaching the truth to himself. He is remembering.
Because I know I am prone to forget, one thing I started doing at the beginning of the year is journaling. I divide the page into three sections – gratitude, confession, and prayer. In the first section I write down all of the things I am grateful for as I reflect on the previous day and how I experienced God at work. Reflecting on the day that has passed I ask, Lord, show me where you were at work in my life. In what ways did I experience your goodness and where did I hear you speak? And then I begin to write what comes to my mind and heart. When I take time each morning to reflect and record all of the ways I experienced Jesus and his blessings of the prior day, I am reminded of God’s faithfulness and my faith grows.
So, if you want to grow your faith, practice remembering. Consider taking a few minutes at the start or end of each day and recount and record all of the ways you experienced God’s blessings and goodness.