1 Samuel 17:24-27, But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep.  When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth.  When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.  Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.  The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”  Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

Do you keep a journal?  I am working on a couple of them right now.  I am starting one that is all about victories that The Lord has brought into my life, and answers to prayers both big and seemingly small, and just those times in my life when I felt the overwhelming presence and blessings of God.  The reason I am doing that is because when you face struggles in life and you need more faith for your situation the best thing you can do is remind yourself of all the things God has done!  I have kept notes in my Bibles for years along that line and dates etc, of when God has spoken to me through a verse, but I want something at my fingertips that I can just open up and remind myself and others of all the great things He has done and of how faithful and wonderful He is.

Maybe today you are thinking that you don’t really have a “history” of things in your life because you are either a new Christian or you just weren’t taught.  Start today.  Include God in all that you do.  Ask Him to show you even little things that He brings into your life to bless you, like maybe a certain flower, sunset, opportunity, or person.  Focus on Him and ask Him to help you to recognize His activity in your life.  So often we miss the fact that it is Him because we just aren’t expecting or looking!  Look for it!  Ask for it!  Seek His face!  Start writing down every blessing and every answer to prayer.  Open your Bible and start reading about all of the amazing things He has done in the lives of others and open your heart up to the fact that He wants to do amazing things in your life as well!  They weren’t made out of some sort of special mud, God loves them and He loves you and He wants to do great things in and through you!

In these verses David wasn’t just reminding himself, he was using the things God had done to strengthen King Saul’s faith as well.  Who around you may need to be encouraged in their walk by hearing and seeing God work in your life?  Don’t allow satan to get you down by trying to make you think that God doesn’t care about you or that your situation is hopeless.  Seek God’s face and cling to Him and His Word.  Trust Him!  Where there is no trust ~ there is no faith.  Without faith, it is impossible to please God.  Stir up your faith today and allow Him to guide you in all that you do and remind yourself of Who He is and all that He has done on the earth both in your life and the lives of others and then you can trust that truly God’s best for us is yet to come!

Quote:  “Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength ~ carrying two days at once.  It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time.  Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”  ~ Corrie ten Boom