Remember God's Faithfulness
It was day 2 of a 6-day foot race, and my husband said, “Turn around. Look back and see how far we’ve come.” Nothing was going as planned. Every single one of my toes was enveloped by a blister, my Achilles tendon was angry and on a mission to break my spirit, and I couldn’t stomach most of the food I had for the race. I had trained for over a year in controlled environments, but now out in the wild arena of the Argentinian Patagonia, it seemed like none of that training was translating to the real world. I was disappointed and disillusioned by the real-life version of what I’d dreamed my life was going to be for those six days. And that disappointment took my joy and my hope away.
Psalms 120-134 are called the Psalms of Ascent because three times a year, the Israelites of the surrounding regions made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for different festivals. They likely sang these songs on their ascent to Jerusalem from the valleys below on their pilgrimage. These songs were their practice of active remembering. They sang songs to remember who God is and his promises during the hard journey.
While I was in the middle of a 2-mile, self-pitying soliloquy, my husband asked me to turn around and see how far we’d come. The act of remembering all that had transpired up to that point, in the middle of an ongoing, hard journey, was enough to awaken me to gratitude. Gratitude led to hope and joy. My pain persisted, but it wasn’t until I finally embraced that ‘the hard’ was part of the journey that songs of praise returned to my lips.
How are you training, preparing, investing, and studying for the hard days of your journey? This summer, you can join in on the self-led Summer Practices of Read, Pray, and Serve found on our website. This month we are beginning a reading plan through Paul’s Letters to the early Church.
When life doesn’t go according to plan, and when fear, disappointment, or disillusionment begin to steal the joy and hope Jesus offers, remember God’s faithfulness. Read his word to be reminded of his goodness and his promises. Look back and see how far he’s brought you. Make note of where you’ve seen his hand protect you, give you peace, hope, and strength on your journey. Even when the journey is hard, we are bound for glory, and our home is found in God’s presence.
With love,
Aline
Psalm 123
I lift my eyes to you, the one enthroned in heaven.
Like a servant’s eyes on his master’s hand,
like a servant girl’s eyes on her mistress’s hand,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God until he shows us favor.
Show us favor, Lord, show us favor, for we’ve had more than enough contempt.
We’ve had more than enough scorn from the arrogant and contempt from the proud.