Think about it: What is your story? Where were you this time a year ago? 5 years ago? Ten years ago?
One of the traps people have always fallen into is forgetting where they have come from. Read the Old Testament and you'll see it over and over again. God's people forgot that they were slaves and God sent Moses to deliver them. They forgot that they while they were wandering in the wilderness because of their unbelief, God provided for them. They forgot how He split the Red Sea or opened a path through the Jordan River, or sent food they didn't have to grow or hunt for in manna and quail. It goes on and on.
The Scriptures bear witness that God's people continually, even habitually, forget what God has done for them in the past, complain about their present, and don't expect God to fulfill His promise for the future. As much as we hate to admit it, you and I are just as prone to such forgetting. It's not pretty. And, although hate to admit it about ourselves, we most certainly will recognize it in our spouse or the person who sits in the other side of the church. But take a hard look at yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to convict your own pattern of repeated history forgetfulness. Once you've admitted it, you are in a perfect place to truly cultivate grateful. Remembering where we came from and what God has done in our lives will always spark thanks. Without exception.
The psalmists understood this. That's why a good number of the psalms are testimony psalms. So many of the psalms look at current distress through the lens of past deliverance. The writer builds future faith through remembering God's past faithfulness. There are even psalms designed to remind all God's people as a group of what He has done for them, how He led them out of slavery and through the Red Sea, defeating Pharoah through plagues and a miraculous opening and closing of water. The psalmists understood their own tendency to forget as they observed the forgetfulness of all their ancestors.
God isn't put off by our tendency to forget Him. That's why He has built into our experience the ordinances of water baptism and celebration of communion, or the Eucharist, which by the way, comes from a Greek word that means "thanksgiving." The whole purpose of communion is to remind us of what Christ did on the cross so that we will be inspired to give thanks. The purpose of communion is to cultivate grateful.
Thanksgiving time, whether the holiday we celebrate or the celebration of the Eucharist, is a good time to look back and remember your own story. What is your story? What has God done for you?
What's my story? God rescued me from myself, from feeling like I had to be good, even perfect, in order to be acceptable and loved, not just by God, but by anyone. When I surrendered my life to Christ I began to discover satisfaction and fulfillment beyond all that I could imagine. It's been a continuing journey of leaving behind comfort and control to embrace an expanding experience of joy and strength through stretching. Every YES along the way has been a doorway to a new understanding of God and a deeper knowledge of my true self, the me God designed me to be. Even as I write this I am overwhelmed with thanks. He has brought me so far and I know there is still farther to go.
I guess that's the greatest benefit of cultivating grateful through remembering your story. When you realize just how far God has brought you, it encourages you to keep saying YES and to continue the adventure.
Cultivate grateful. What's your story? Let remembering your past inspire you to reach toward God's future for you because your story is far from over.
Key thought: Remembering my past inspires my future.
A Scripture to consider:
Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. Psalms 107:8
A YES challenge: Take some time to reflect on your story. Give thanks to God for how far He has brought you and commit to giving Him Your YES going forward.
Prayer:
Father, as I look back on all You have done for me I can't help but overflow with thanks. I see how far You have brought me. I am not the same person I was and I know it wasn't through my own efforts. It's a work of Your ever-present grace in my life. I choose today to put my trust in Your future for me because I remember how faithful You have been in my past. I give you my YES again because I know You will continue to do wonderful things in my life. Amen.