Reminisces of Past Faith Power Present Faith Into the Future

PROBLEMS in the present are helped by faithful reliance of past. Past faithfulness to endure the stuff of life ought to be the ideal encouragement to endure this thing before us right now.

It doesn’t matter if this is a new thing. Soon we will be able to thank that younger version of us that took pleasure in opting to obey the Lord.

When life swarms with difficulty — where pain contends for our attention — and where mental and emotional capacities are pushed beyond the limit — amongst a plethora of dis-ease — life seems impossible. But we have no memory of how hard a thing it was that we endured last month or last year or five years ago. We only have memory for the moment’s existential pain — whether by frustration, doubt, inadequacy, exhaustion or fatigue.

And we can thank God. The Lord got us through all those other times when we patiently resisted torment, so why would he not now? Merely the fact we are here, now, alive and breathing, even with brokenness all about, there is evidence of God’s saving grace woven in and through our entire lives. Yet, we were so busy looking at how hard it was now.

Of course life is hard. It is hard for everyone if everyone is truthful. We all have our good days, but there are far too few of them, given that we would have it all our own way if we could.

The important fact is our reminisces of past faith power our present faith into the future.

We have no reason to doubt we’ll get through, or fear we don’t have the capacity, or cringe for the present embarrassment, or to bellow that life has never been harder.

Life has been as hard and there may be times of future when life will be as hard, if not harder.

The present embarrassment seems so acute, yet in a few days or a week or so this embarrassment will be overtaken by another, equally poignant, problem.

We may worry we don’t have what it takes, but our previous conquests have shown us how capable we are.

The exhaustion we experience shows us just how much we can endure and suffer without giving up.

Our days may be excruciatingly hard, and yet we have endured tough times before.

Let me say it again: our reminisces of past faith, where we did what was needed, power our present faith into the future.

Be thankful for past faithfulness, be grateful for present strength, and be at joy for future’s hope.

© 2015 Steve Wickham.