Never Forget

Dear Friends,

As is the case with most small churches, one of the primary challenges we face at The Harvest is limited resources. Whether it’s people, time, or finances - we regularly have more needs than human ability to meet them. It makes life both exciting and challenging at the same time. It’s “exciting” because having limited resources requires us to rely on God in ways we might not feel we needed to if we had unlimited resources. It’s also “challenging” because we have to rely on God in ways we might not have to if we had unlimited resources! 

In other words, our limited resources help keep us focused on doing only what God wants us to do, because that’s what God has provided the resources to do. And while that really is the best way to live, the day in and day out reality of living that way can be challenging as it requires us to daily (hourly?) surrender our desires and plans to God. As a result, there are days when I feel worn out by the process, or discouraged by how things may or may not be coming together. 

Fortunately, in His grace and mercy, God always gives me encouragement right when I need it most. Such was the case this morning as I was going through a list of ministry things that need to be done in the next few weeks - comparing it to the resources we have - and seeing the significant gap between the two. I was on the verge of just tossing the list away, when God reminded me of Psalm 105:1-5, which says:  “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done. Sing to Him; yes, sing His praises. Tell everyone about His wonderful deeds. Exult in His holy name; rejoice, you who worship the Lord! Search for the Lord and for His strength; continually seek Him. Remember the wonders and miracles He has performed.”

This passage was just what I needed to hear, because it reminded me that there is power in taking time to remember - especially when it's remembering all that God has done for us. The reason the process of remembering is so powerful is because, as we remember how God has provided in the past, it encourages us that He will provide in the future. At the same time, it’s encouraging because it reminds us that God has a plan, and He never abandons His plans or His promises. And while we may know these things on an intellectual level, the truth is we often “forget” them on an emotional level when we're facing challenging times. That’s one of the main reasons that remembering the truth about Who God is and how He deals with us will build our strength for moving forward.

So even when life is tough and things don’t seem to make sense to us, we need to remember God's faithfulness to us in the past, and then rest assured that He is in control and is working out His plan in the present - and for the future. We have to believe that God has our best interest at heart, and then we need to let that knowledge encourage and strengthen us as it motivates us to do our best to live for Him.

So today, let's take time to remember. Let's stop and ponder all that God has done for us. And then out of that remembering, let's ask Him to build our faith that He will continue to provide as we trust him for today’s needs and tomorrow’s challenges.

Amen?

Daniel