"...this far..."

When our eyes are focused on the Volcano in the distance, we tend to miss all the details in between.
Photo by Daniel Klassen

“Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and he said, "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?” 2 Samuel 7:18

     Let me set the scene.  God has just told David that his house and his kingdom will last forever.  Huge news.  I love David’s response; he goes in and sits before the Lord.  Then, what follows is a time of reflection. And if you will allow me to paraphrase what David said: “Why would you do that God?  I am nobody and yet you have promised me this huge blessing.  And not only for me but for my family, why?”  In verse 28 of 2 Samuel Chapter 7, David draws this conclusion. “O Sovereign LORD, you are God!  Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.”

     What if we took this model in Scripture and followed David’s example?  As followers of Christ, we each have been given a blessing which is life changing.  Have we taken time to reflect on all that God has done for us?  Have we taken time to remember all God has done in our individual lives and where He has brought us this far? 

     There are various ways this can be accomplished.  For example you could take your age and divide by four and evaluate each of those chunks of time.  Or you could take each decade, season, whatever is easiest for you to process.  Then spend some time before the Lord, remembering all that God had done in your life during that season. 

     I decided to follow David’s example.  At 51, when I divided my life into four blocks that gave me from birth to 13 years of age, 13 to 26, 26 to 39 and finally 39 to the my present age.  Then I went in and sat before the Lord and prayed for the Holy Spirit to reveal to me and help me to see or remember God’s presence in my life during that particular season.  I cannot express to you how valuable this was and encouraging.  This process took time, you have to be willing to pause your life and be still before the Lord.  At first I thought there would not be anything significant during my earliest years.  I had completely forgotten that at ten years of age my Dad was in a farming accident and, had the tow strap taken a different trajectory, my life would have ended then.  I wrote down in my journal evidence of God’s presence and protection during that episode.  Then I continued on through each stage doing the same. 

     The reason I believe this is an invaluable practice is we need to be reminded of how and when God was working in our lives.  Our human nature is to forget or become so consumed by the present things going on in our lives we simply don’t see or feel God’s presence.  The encouraging part is this: as reasoning people we can say, “In the past if God was present and faithful in my life, we can hold fast to the promise that it will continue into our future.”  

    When I finished the process I came to exactly the same conclusion that David did.  “Oh Sovereign LORD, you are God!”  Because you were present with me in the past, I can be assured you will be present with me in my future.