In my desperation, I prayed, and the Lord listened; He saved me from all my troubles. For the angel of the Lord is a guard; He surrounds and defends all who fear Him. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh the joys of those who take refuge in Him! Psalm 34:6-8 NLT

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The other day, I watched a sermon by Joyce Meyer, called “Living Amazed.” In the sermon, she opened up a huge trunk full journals she kept over the years, which captured all of the ups and downs in her life, and how God saw her through every single moment. As she some of the entries, it dawned on me how important it was for her to record her life that way. It allowed her to reach back and remember. You may wonder why I think it’s important to remember the past, especially if the past isn’t very pleasant. My answer is simple. Humans have a horrible case of memory loss. One moment, we can be rejoicing because we received a breakthrough or experienced victory over a situation, but as soon as the fanfare dies and another problem comes, we forget about the previous joy and suddenly find ourselves upset and in despair. Keeping track of the occurrences in life can help us see clearly the many ways God has been faithful. A prime example for me is the blog I wrote on August 2, 2014 entitled, Hope In The Wilderness. I remember exactly how I felt when I wrote that blog. As I struggled to write something to encourage others, I was battling thoughts of worthlessness, fear, and loneliness. I couldn’t feel God’s presence and I didn’t think He cared that I was hurting. By the time my birthday rolled around in October, I wanted to do anything but celebrate. My faith in God was at an all-time low. I knew that I was being attacked by Satan, but I felt too weak to fight what I felt.

I remember being in my room, writing that blog post, and if you read it, you will see it starts out pretty somber. It wasn’t even called “Hope In the Wilderness” yet. It was actually called “Lost In The Wilderness.” That title seemed so fitting at that moment. But suddenly, in the midst of my mindless rambling, I remembered the scripture in Jeremiah which says, “I know the plans that I have for you…plans to prosper and not to harm you…to give you hope and a good future…” From that point forward, the tone of my post changed. Not only that, but my thinking about my circumstances changed. I decided that it wasn’t beneficial for me to be bitter and to doubt God. It was time to stop pouting and to start pressing. I decided to become more serious about spending time with God. I stopped listening to my favorite R&B radio show in the morning and replaced it with things that kept my mind on the Word. I began to complain less about my issues, and the rest is history…

The reason I am amazed today is because I read that post this morning and it blows my mind to see the transformation God has performed in what seems like overnight. At the time, I couldn’t feel Him moving. I didn’t even know if He was listening to me. I couldn’t hear Him speaking at all. But I think now that the silence of my life was a clear indication that God really was working on my behalf. In my silence, God held me and comforted me. He kept me alive and kept pushing me through the pain. He dried every tear I cried with one hand and opened doors for me with His other hand. The things that once bothered me don’t come close to phasing me now. I sleep peacefully at night now, because I am certain of God’s love for me. Being able to look back and recall that difficult time in my life is what helps me continue to live in utter amazement of God’s unfailing love and infinite power to do exceedingly and abundantly above anything I can ever imagine. I encourage you to do the same. Never stop living in amazement.