“Let all that I am praise the LORD,
May I never forget the good things He has done for me.” Psalm 103:2 NLT
I like to record my thoughts, insights and prayers in my journal when I have my morning Quiet Time with God. Journaling has been a habit for me for quite some time. The typical time it takes for me to fill up a journal is about three months or a “season.” Despite this good habit I have been missing something pretty important! I have not read through what I wrote after the journals were finished. I just put it away in a box somewhere and never to look at it again. I decided to change this after filling out my last journal at the end of April and ask this simple question, “What happened during that time that I can thank and praise the Lord Jesus Christ for?”
As I re-read the pages the first thing I noticed was, “Wow these were three hard months. I didn’t realize all (including getting Covid with Colleen. Fun!) I was going through at once!” But when I got over all that little observation, this is what I learned:
He indeed answered several very specific, burdening-down prayers during that at the time And He exceeded my expectations (and my faith!) when He answered them. For example, I taken out a $38,500 PPP loan for my restaurant which I was told to spend in two months on employees while I was forced by Washington state to shut down our seating (but that’s another story and I’m not bitter really… ;-) I was concerned I would be short in how it was used and still owe the government money but by God’s grace I was granted full forgiveness in the end.
I could see that I had become stronger in wisdom and faith through these frustrations and disappointments I experienced. For example, in Florida I have worked at three different jobs that I was hoping would become more long-term career type of opportunities. As I write this I am looking for something more permanent, but as I have gained more insight in what would be a good fit than if I had not had these disappointments.
The sting of what I was recovering from 2020 during those three months has almost completely faded from my memory. The only thing remaining was a residue, a reminder of God’s faithfulness to teach me what I needed to learn as His child. For me the pain of financial setback, of leaving family and friends behind in the 3,200 mile move, and even of what has been occurring in our nation has ALL taught me anew to “walk by faith and not by sight”(2 Corinthians 5:7)
Oh Lord, thank you for opening my eyes by leading me to review what I wrote in my journal to see your amazing faithfulness and wisdom in every aspect of my life and the lives I pray for. Thank you for teaching me the lesson of, “Don’t forget to remember!” In Your Precious Name,
Amen
Written by Jamie Bohnett. Contact the Author: jamiebohnett@gmail.com