Write down your testimonies
Situations will ask you later in life. What makes you think you are a child of God?
Habakkuk 2:2 NLT – “Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.”
Many years ago, I stumbled across my old diary where I wrote an instruction God gave to me. The instruction was that I should never eat without giving thanks. But I had since forgotten.
There is power in writing down.
What have you written down?
How many testimonies can you call to mind? Have you despised the testimonies of the past?
In the journey of life, you will need to refill and replenish your fuel in the days of burnout so you do not faint.
One of the most important tools for refueling in the journey of life is past testimonies. You have to remember what God has done for you in the past, in order to generate the required faith to move on.
When Goliath defied the armies of the living God, a little boy approached the king of Israel for an opportunity to engage Goliath. But there was nothing on earth to convince king Saul that David could confront the giant Philistine. Even David’s brothers asked him to go home.
There was no amount of Bible verses that could convince king Saul to allow a child in Israel to confront the strongest Philistine.
But David recounted his testimonies of what God has done in the past and he was able to convince the king.
1 Samuel 17:36-37 – “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted and defied the armies of the living God.”
David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”
In the first instance, it is the above testimonies that gave David the confidence to fight Goliath. That same testimony gave King Saul the confidence that the God that helped David in the past, could help him again.
Past testimonies have a strong way of building our faith for present battles. This is why you will find it all over the scripture, where God reminded the Israelites of what He did for them in the past.
Exodus 29:46 – “They shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God”
Leviticus 11:45 – “For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
When the disciples of Jesus were arguing about not having enough bread, Jesus reminded them of what he had done in the past.
Mark 8:17-21 – “Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? ‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?
“When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?” “Twelve,” they said.
“And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?” “Seven,” they said.
“Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them.”
Whenever we are in doubt, God wants us to remember what he has done for us in the past.
When you apply for a job, the recruiter wants to see your resume. Your resume tells them about what you have done in the past. Your past accomplishments give the recruiter a reason to believe that you can achieve those things again.
It is the same thing when you write down what God has done in your life. When tribulations bring doubts, you have to take up that resume of God that you had written and build your faith with it.
The scripture is very powerful. However, when we are faced with serious challenges, there is a tendency for us to start doubting what we have read.
There are some challenges that will hit you in life that will make you find it difficult to believe the Bible. But if you have any promise that God has given you personally, it will boost your faith.
On many occasions, God has referred me to what he did for me in the past.
When God is giving revelation sometimes and I am not writing them down immediately, he stops the revelation. God knows that we do not have the capacity to hold some of these things in our memory for long. So he always tells us to write them down.
One time I was having doubts in my heart and God asked me to go through the previous revelations he gave me in the past. After seeing promises, my faith was restored.
Many of us do not know the importance of keeping notes of our encounters with God and that is why we easily get weary.
It is important to build a profile of your encounters with God before you are hit with life’s challenges. This is why you should not wait for issues to come before you run to God. You may not be able to build the faith needed to fight that battle.
It takes time to grow spiritually and without spiritual maturity, one will not be able to stand the test of life.
Many people lose battles because they cannot make any reference like we saw David did in 1 Samuel 17:36-37 above.
When you find yourself walking on water, the devil will ask you “have you walked on water before?”
You will scan through your archive and will not be able to find any reference. Then you will begin to sink.
Always write down your encounters. When God gives you a dream, write it down. When you ask God for an insight and he gives you an answer, write it down.
If you want to grow in Christ, you have to start by having a personal relationship with him.
Without a personal relationship with God, you cannot build a strong profile that can withstand the devil in the days of trial.
Life is a school, always take notes so you could read during exams.
Shalom
Osoria Asibor