Scrapbook Spirituality?

“I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick. But forget all that – it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.” (Isaiah 43:17-18 NLT)

Think of all the years that have passed since that glorious work of God for His chosen people. It’s a wonderful remembrance, but if we get caught up in what He’s done, we can easily miss what He’s wanting to do! And not just in the Church, in our individual lives.

Pictures are wonderful, but they have this mesmerizing effect of drawing us to days past, which is fine, but not if it robs us of all that God has in store for us. And yes, as I well know and understand, what’s ahead may not be all that inviting, but, again, you’ve got to realize Who it is that is calling you into that future.

Think about it. What lie just ahead for the children of Israel? Most of them would die in a wasteland for their disobedience. Only their children would survive to see the Promised Land. And many of them would die in battle seeking to secure the future for their children or would be forfeited of God’s desire for them to live victoriously because of THEIR disobedience.

Yes, looking back can be comforting, but it can also be challenging. It can challenge us to realize we each have the potential of becoming more than we ever dared dream we could be. I look at pictures of my children as infants, children, teens, and now as adults and I marvel, not only at what they were, but what they’ve become. But beyond that, what they can still become in Jesus.

Even as believers, we can bury our heads and seek to continue to live in “what was,” or we can face the future with faith-fueled expectation, believing God is going to do more in and through us than we’ve ever dared believe He could.

Ron Hutchcraft wrote: “Come on! You can’t base a relationship with Christ on a scrapbook, no matter how impressive the past is. Sure, we can draw encouragement for the new things in front of us from looking back. You just can’t let the old missions satisfy you. You need some new experiences with Jesus. You need to be part of some new exploits for the King, places where you experience Christ’s lordship in things that matter to you now.

You need a daily rendezvous with Him where you have new encounters, new discoveries all the time from His Word; something new that you just talked to Him about today. You need a new mission, a new vision for what you could be doing for Him; a new reviving work better than all the others you’ve had in the past, a new intimacy, closer to Jesus than you’ve ever been before.

Isn’t it time to say, ‘Lord, I’ve been living too much on memories. I’ve been living on old victories, old experiences. Let’s do some new things together! Today, Lord, let’s start making some new memories.’” (See A Word for You Spiritual Memories Are Not Enough – 09-17-24)

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊