A few days ago, as we celebrate HFTW’s 25th anniversary we invited our congregation to spend time remembering what God has done so we can rise in faith to claim all He wants to do!
Remember what God has done reignites passion to believe God for what He can do.
“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul and forget not all his benefits-who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.
— Psalms 103:1-5 (NIV)
Some powerful things God does as we remember and testify to God’s faithfulness in our lives individually and as a church:
1. He encourages us by helping us realize how many of the blessings we see today are promises we prayed for and claimed years before.
2. It is a weapon that empowers us to overcome the discouragement and pessimism of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
“They triumphed over him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
— Revelation 12:11 (NIV)
3. It helps us remember that what we have to boast in is not of ourselves, but it is all by the grace of God. This keeps us from relying on ourselves as we go forward.
“Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?”
— Galatians 3:3 (NIV)
4. It takes our testimony and allows it to be someone else’s prophecy. Every miracle is not just a blessing, it has a seed in it to build our faith and to help others receive the same blessing.
God doesn’t just bless us; He blesses us to grow our faith and become a blessing to others. What He does for us He also does through us for others.
“And from the overflow of his fullness we received grace heaped on grace!"
— John 1:16 (TPT)
“For we also have had good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed."
— Hebrews 4:2 (NIV)
God doesn’t just want us to get blessed; He wants us to grow from that blessing and bless others!
Ways we can grow in faith by remembering God’s faithfulness
Grasp the everyday miracles that are happening all around us.
“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
— James 1:16-17 (NIV)
Reasons we don’t always appreciate God’s miracles:
1. They can seem to be small and easy to take for granted.
2. They often come disguised as problems. Some of God’s miracles are things He does for us; some miracles God does in us.
Sometimes He removes the mountain and sometimes He gives us the grace to get up the mountain and help others overcome in the process.
Refuse to react in fear and anger at the hardships of life and move to remember what God has done and what God has said.
1. Go from despairing to remembering.
“You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak. I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked; will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion? Then I thought, “To this I will appeal; the years the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the people’s.”
— Psalm 77: 4-14 (NIV)
2. Use the occasion to praise God and boldly claim His promises.
Never forget that God doesn’t just bless us for us; all of his blessings are there to be a way for us to be a blessing to others.
Today, let us allow our faith to stand in praise for the blessings of the past and empower us to claim God’s greatest promises for the future.