Looking Back, Moving Forward - Part 1

You’re aware of how some memories persevere for a lifetime while others fade into obscurity. A few rare memories are like sweet cream dessert, but others can be so awful we do our best to avoid them. Most of our memories include a combination of happy and sad experiences, sparking our emotions that span a range from joyful to disturbing.

When children are severely criticized and rejected, they may develop survival skills to help them reach their highest potential and yet continue to feel an emptiness that success is incapable of filling. Being disfavored leaves a child or an adult feeling impoverished, like the black sheep of the family. Yet it's possible to replace this perspective with God’s perspective.

No one makes it through life with only positive memories, but God will heal wounds we’ve acquired at every stage of life. Pain created by memories shrink as you permit God to do his work of cleansing and forgiving. You are favored by God, so deposit this reality into your memory bank. 

Remember! God Favors You - Part 3

When the people of Israel ended their forty-year residence in the desert, it was time to claim the promised land. Their journey, which had begun in Egypt, ended at the Jordan River near Jericho. Joshua, their leader and commander appointed by Moses, told the people, "Consecrate yourselves to the Lord God. Tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you."

These people were to go forward to conquer the land. This is not unlike what God asks you to do as you go out to confront the tasks of making a living, parenting children, or just surviving the day. God wanted his people to remember he favored them and they would be successful regardless how the odds seemed stacked against them.

It's important to remember how God favors you by getting you through desperate situations that seemed impossible to navigate. Do not forget that God believes in you and regards you as his treasure and dear possession.  It's difficult to get that fixed into your consciousness, isn't it? You are his treasure and prized possession. He will never forget you!   

Remember! God Favors You - Part 2

The pastor of a metropolitan church states unequivocally that God favors those who put their trust and faith in Christ Jesus. Do you realize how significant it is to be favored by God? We tend to forget and consequentially fail to appreciate the benefits of such a privilege. God's word assures us we can't begin to imagine what God has in store for those who love him.

Someone revealed how frustrated she felt because God seemed so distant. She felt frightened, lonely, and powerless because of the loss of God’s presence she’d known since childhood. Another person asked, "Why doesn't God cut me some slack and give me a break? I'm struggling and desperately need help that only God can provide!"

Search your heart, confess your sins, and repent by turning from every wrongdoing. God will forgive you and remember your sins no more. Do not forget, God favors you and will send resources to aid you when it is in your best interest for him do so. Seek God with all your heart and he will be found. While God may not be early, he will never be late.