Filled: A Devotional to Fill Your Life With an Abundance of Hope, Peace, Joy & LoveSample

Day 2: Filled With Reminders of God’s Goodness

5 years ago, my husband and I moved into a rental house that was an answer to a long prayer of ours. After a series of unfortunate circumstances, we had been forced to short sale our townhome and embark on a journey out of home ownership and into renting again. It was stressful but God took care of us. In fact, when we landed in our current house as renters, we prayed an audacious prayer. We said, Lord, could you break everything here so that it would be fixed? And then we would love to buy this house. Crazy, right?

First the furnace broke. Then the washer/dryer were updated. Our landlord said yes to us buying and in that process the water heater was replaced. We were able to get a free roof through some odd circumstances and then gutters. It was by the grace of God that these things happened. He clearly showed up.

And yet, we are so forgetful, aren’t we?

Fast forward to just recently when my daughter spent a few days in the hospital. We had a 5-day ordeal involving urgent care, 2 emergency rooms, several doctors’ visits and a short stint in the ICU. I found myself overwhelmed at the prospect of the medical bills.

I didn’t stop to think about how God had previously taken care of us. Instead, I just worried. That did a lot of good, let me tell you.

You know what happened?

He took care of us and provided for our bills in unexpected ways.

So, how do we stop our forgetfulness? How do we keep God front and center in our mind so that we can always have our hope in him instead of letting the spiral of worry creep in?

Here are a few ideas:

1. Let worship music infuse you. Keep worship music a part of your daily routine. Sing about and ponder God’s promises.

2. Keep your Bible open. Find a Bible plan and make time for God.

3. Write down the times God takes care of you. Make a special journal so that you can remind yourself of his goodness when you find yourself forgetting. Rehearse what you know about God.

God is always showing up in small ways in your life. Start working to pay attention so that you can cling to those moments when you need them.

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for taking care of us. You want to take care of us and we know you are full of goodness. We put our hope in you. We are so sorry we forget easily what you have done for us. Help us remember. Help us cling to you.

REFLECTION: Scope out a journal or notebook where you can start to write down reminders of how God is working in your life. Take some time today to write down some things that he has done for you. If you can’t think of anything, ask God to reveal them to you or open your eyes for what is to come!