Psalm 106:1-31
Experience is a good teacher. So a big part of growing in our walk with the Lord needs to include looking back and drawing on our past successes and stumbles just like the Psalmist does here in Psalm 106. But here's the thing. We have a big advantage over the Psalmist because we have the entire Bible--full of examples of people's successes, failures, mistakes and stumbles--to draw from as well. Think about it. We have the ultimate guide to Christian living and knowing God's heart and mind right at our fingertips! That's pretty cool.
So how have you used past experiences to help you grow in your walk with the Lord? Have you found this beneficial? How can you make better use of your past experiences and the examples and particularly the experiences of people in the Bible going forward? Tami W.
For me, looking back at what God has done for me helps remind me of His faithfulness and gives me a greater desire to remain faithful to Him and to trust Him with my future. It also has helped me to write down things that God does for me and times that He forgives me to look back on those specific times later. I don't do that often enough!
God has brought me out of a deep, dark pit, and turned my life around where now I can see "everything" is Him... always was, always will be. I need to keep my eyes, mind, and heart, on Him everyday, as I don't want to slide back down into that pit. His people forgot the things He had done for them, and the pit He had brought them out of, and they went back to the former life. In order not to do that, I need to always be mindful of where I was (in the pit), and keep my eyes on where eternity lies. Reading God's Word, keeping on with Powered by 4 and BTTB, and talking throughout the day with God, all help me to keep on the right path. This all helps to renew my mind.
There are numerous examples in scripture of reminders that God has established for our benefit. I believe that it's part of our fallen nature to forget over time the things He has done for us and tend to turn back inwards once the storms of life have passed.
God blessed me with a unique experience of divine intervention a few years ago and placed His hand of protection over me when I suddenly found myself in an extremely dangerous situation. The incident happened at a place that I passed by numerous times daily (and incidentally, within a couple of hundred yards of where I now live). I called the place my own personal "Shechem stone" in remembrance of the story in Joshua 24 where Joshua set a large stone under an oak tree in Shechem as a reminder to the people of the covenant they had made with God after reviewing their own history and all of the things that God had done on their behalf.
Sadly, today I can pass by my Shechem stone without much of a thought about it's significance. Thank you Tami, for refreshing this experience in my mind with today's blog! And what I mean by that is thank you God for doing this for me through Tami.
I see that by looking back it helps me to remember what God brought me through and what to look for in order not to go backwards. I have to do things differently and remember to always ask that his will be done and not that of my own that helps alot. I love your "THINK ABOUT ITS" AT THE END OF EACH MESSAGE.
I've been a Believer now for over 37 years. I love the bible and, also, Back to The Bible radio program.
Tammi, you are a great asset to Dr. Kroll's teachings. Even though I have listened to the program since Theodore Epp and almost never miss a day, I have just started Power by 4. I love it!!
The comments on your blog and from listeners helps me feel the Presence of God in a new and very real way. I want to thank you and all those who contribute to this very worthwhile endeavor.
Keep on!!!