What you remember will help you endure.
Samuel Johnson said, “People need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed.”
My daughter Hayley has kept asking us to tell the stories of Goliath, Samson, and Naaman. Yes, she asks for Goliath instead of David. We have a little work to do. The discipline of storytelling keeps reminding us.
Soon the stories we tell become our stories. Remembering invites us to look back. The writers of Scriptures keep reminding us of the same story. God brings the Israelites out of Egypt. He parts the Red Sea. He provides manna in the wilderness.
Psalm 78 shares an unfiltered history because the writer sees this purpose:
My people, hear my teaching;
Psalm 78:1-4
listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
Notice the “things we have heard known.” Read the whole Bible from Old to New Testament, and you see this intentional repetition.
I struggle to tell my daughter than same stories. After a while, it gets boring. The discipline of storytelling matters as much for adults who tell the stories as the kids who hear them.
We can have short attention spans. We forget the faithfulness of God in the past. We can walk into each new challenge focused on the present without the experience of the past. You are where you are today because God walked with you in the past.
Reminders keep us grounded and rooted. It gives us a grander view of God at work in our lives. You have the strength to walk through today’s wilderness and value because Jesus has walked you through one before.
Ultimately, we need the reminder of the good news of the gospel. Jesus’s death and resurrection brings us life amid what seems hopeless.
What do you need to remember today? How has God faithfully walked with you in the past? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash