“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Joshua 1:9 KJV) [see also Matthew 20:28]
Once in a while, my wife Bobbie and I reminisce over the journey we have traveled in ministry. And as you may guess, sometimes we tear up over memories and other times we are thankful we made it through. We can tell you stories about every place we have served in ministry. And it is interesting that she and I do not always remember our experiences the same way. But we both agree that God was with us there.
After years of collecting such memories — you should see our photo file — we realize that we don’t always remember the names of the faces in the photos. And we failed to record their names when the pictures were developed. You’d think that since we got our picture taken with them, surely we would know their names. At the time, we may have thought that we would never forget them, yet there they are unidentified in our photo file.
Upon reflection, it would have been really smart of me to have kept a better record, but what a chore that would have been. A small note here. Highlights there. A complete notebook for each congregation. But the rewards! Today I would have thirty plus years of significant data verifying friendships and work done for the Lord. Such a record would enable me to reminisce and review with clarity all the people and places and important milestones. Yes, I know that God keeps good records, but it would be good if I had kept a better one for myself. I would like to review his steps with me.
Now don’t mistake these musings for “sour grapes.” You see, I can search the record and tell you how many sermons I preached. I can find how many people received Christ in those churches. I can tell you the average attendance each month. I can identify the amount of my salary and expenses in each church. Yet, my private thoughts and reactions are scantily interspersed but inadequate. How God was dealing with me through those experiences didn’t always get into my notes. My reflections at the time would be truly precious to me now, because without a doubt, God did send us and was with us!
It is never too late to begin recording your life and ministry for posterity. Well, perhaps the public will never be interested in our exploits. Maybe our memoirs will never be on the New York best seller list, but memories are always precious to the individual. Perhaps after we are gone, a family member will be inspired or strengthened by our experiences. Consider how you would appreciate such a memento of your deceased loved ones. To be able to read their thoughts and musings about their interests and the issues they faced. To see how God walked with them.
What is more important are the things you learn about yourself from your journal or diary. It tracks your transformation and growth. Think about how important a personal record is to you. It installs attention grabbers for what God is saying to you. It points to signposts of what God’s will is for you. Important personal issues with dates, places and a brief summary of the circumstances reveal much to the discerning mind.
As I have demonstrated here, with age and time external events and data are forgotten unless they are recorded. Inner episodes of God at work reveal much when read and re-read now. Prayers answered. Results that were never foreseen. Life is a journey of detours, starts and stops, setbacks and victories. But life is also a mountain of glorious experiences in God’s presence . . . a vista of fresh glimpses of him who send us and is always with us . . . just as he promised.
Dear Father, thank you for the accurate record you have of our entire lives. Enable us to keep a record of today and every day along this journey with you to the end that only you can see. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Take courage the Lord our God is with us everywhere we go,