It is very hard to not get consumed by the difficult things in life. Most of us have gotten sucked up into sadness, depression and perhaps even despair at some point in our lives. We allow our minds to drift between those painful moments as if flipping through the old photo album, turning pages almost out of obligation, feeling compelled to dive deeper.
One of the most powerful things we can do to keep our heads up in life is to follow the example of Scripture. The LORD instructed His people to "remember" repeatedly. They would be facing a time of uncertainty and change. The LORD would tell them to "remember" His faithfulness and take courage.
I think we all need a way to remember the highlights of our journeys. Perhaps today is the day to begin that list of things to remember. We can begin with Scripture and read of His faithfulness to His people down through history. Then we can take an honest look back and focus on those moments when the LORD showed up in our lives. Then we can gather the moments from others who are also traveling this pilgrim road.
But having the list is not enough. We must choose "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2) We can move our minds. We can "take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ." (2Cor 10:5) We don't have to drift aimlessly in our thought life. We can take charge.
We are now eight days from our flight to Okinawa, eight days to a new adventure with Him. We could focus on the fourteen hour flight from Dulles to Tokyo, sitting in coach. Or we could see the faithfulness of the LORD to place a supportive community around us, ready to support our launch into the direction of God. We can choose to see His hand at work and anticipate His working through us. We can choose to remember the times when He showed up and received the glory, and get ready to pass the glory back to Him.
I say to you, "Remember!"