• Look Back

    By: Kristen L. McNulty



    If you're anything like me, one thought tends to creep in when you're hit with a challenge or trial or tragedy. And that is the doubt if God is really going to come through this time. The danger of this doubt is that if given enough thought that one weed of doubt can grow into a garden that starts choking out your faith. But there's one thing I've learned that works when you start to doubt and when you start to question and that is to look back and see what God has done.

    In the middle another sleepless night, on the drive home from a devastating diagnosis, on your front porch after being served with the papers, look back.

    Hindsight can fuel our faith and remind us of the goodness of God like few things can, look back.

    In Psalm 143 the psalmist put this in practice in the lowest of places when he prayed:

    "I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear. I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works and think about what you have done." Psalm 143:4-5

    So every time the sky looks dark and scary, every time life hands you another storm, instead of focusing on the height of the waves or the depth of the problem, look back and remember the times where God came through in a way that only He can. Look back and reminisce about the times you suffered great loss, but see too how He carried you through and provided a sense of purpose on the other side. Look back and be reminded of all those times when you thought God was saying "no", it really was only a "not yet". Look back.

    The psalmist captured the importance of looking back again in Psalm 77 when penned wrote:

    "And I said, 'This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me.' But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works." Psalm 77:10-12

    When we fill our minds with what God has done in the past, we begin to lose any doubts we have about what He can do in the present. So look back. Recall the things God has done in your life and in the lives of the people around you. Read His word and the records of generation after generation of His faithfulness. And invite those around you to testify to what God has done in their lives so you can be encouraged here and now. The God we follow has a track record of miracles and interventions and faithfulness that stretches back to before time as we know it began. He's done it before, He can do it again. Look back and hold onto that in faith.

    Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.

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