Remembering What God Has Done
Psalm 124 - 2 minute read
"If it had not been the LORD, ______."
Remembering what God has done enables us to boldly trust what He is doing and confidently hope for what He will do.
If it hadn't been for the LORD, what would have happened? How would your life be different? Maybe you would have given up on a passion or a dream. Maybe you would be far less joyful. Maybe you wouldn't even be here today. Maybe you would have gotten exactly what you wanted and it would have destroyed you.
If it hadn't been for the LORD, what would have happened? How would your life be different? Maybe you would have given up on a passion or a dream. Maybe you would be far less joyful. Maybe you wouldn't even be here today. Maybe you would have gotten exactly what you wanted and it would have destroyed you.
Throughout the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), God acts on behalf of His people's best interest. Sometimes, that looks like a harsh but fair judgement on a lost and disobedient nation. Many other times though, He delivers Israel from danger, sees them to victory over an enemy, or leads them through chaos to safety. Israel's leaders and kings often found themselves thinking back, reminding the people and asking themselves, "If it had not been the LORD..."
King David believed that God was the type of God who bursts forth for His people, who steps in and comes to the rescue. David wrote Psalm 124 reflecting on this in his own life. But a lot of the time, when we look at our lives or the world around us, it seems like God doesn't always burst forth. What if it feels like He's forgotten to come to the rescue?
If the visible world is all there is, then it can be hard to believe that God is for us. But there is an invisible, spiritual world that God is working in as well. Here are three words of teaching and encouragement the Apostle Paul wrote to two different early churches, Ephesus and Corinth, as they were feeling discouraged and overwhelmed by their circumstances:
King David believed that God was the type of God who bursts forth for His people, who steps in and comes to the rescue. David wrote Psalm 124 reflecting on this in his own life. But a lot of the time, when we look at our lives or the world around us, it seems like God doesn't always burst forth. What if it feels like He's forgotten to come to the rescue?
If the visible world is all there is, then it can be hard to believe that God is for us. But there is an invisible, spiritual world that God is working in as well. Here are three words of teaching and encouragement the Apostle Paul wrote to two different early churches, Ephesus and Corinth, as they were feeling discouraged and overwhelmed by their circumstances:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12
Ephesians 6:12
For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12
1 Corinthians 13:12
For we live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7
2 Corinthians 5:7
John Martin, Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, c. 1816. 150 cm x 231 cm.
National Gallery of Art, United States
National Gallery of Art, United States