It’s easy to get lost in the stress of every day living and forget to activate our faith. We become consumed with circumstances and easily discouraged. We are not the first people to struggle with this.

The biblical Israelites wandered the dessert for years, complaining and grumbling because they were not getting to the promise land. Life was hard, battles had to be fought and people grew weary. Near the end of the book of Numbers, God had Moses record the long journey as a way to remember his goodness.

Our pastor spoke passage in Numbers which frankly seemed monotonous when I read it. But the three points of his sermon turned out to be encouragement and strategies to employ on a regular basis. Here is what we learned.

1. Remember the faithfulness of God. Moses recorded all the places, and stages of their long journey to reach the promise land. The process required all the events in which the Lord was faithful–getting out of Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, being delivered from battles, etc. As we recount the life markers of the Lord’s faithfulness in our own lives, it reminds us of God’s faithfulness. This is an exercise we can all do when we begin to feel discouraged. One by one, recount the events, moments, times in your life when God showed up in a big way and walked you through difficulty.
2. Remember God’s forgetfulness. What is interesting in Numbers 33 is that the account of the road to the Promised Land does not include all the quarreling, complaining and grumbling the people did. Those negative times are left out. This reminds us that God erases records of wrongs. He forgets our transgressions, erases our sins so that we can walk in freedom. What a powerful gift! A clean slate to move forward in life.
3. Remember God’s guidance. As the children of Israel traipsed through the dessert, God was leading them every day. Many of the stops listed in Numbers 33 were unknown, but noted. This is a reminder to us that in the ordinary days of our lives, God is still leading and guiding. So while so many details of our lives will one day be forgotten, the fact that God leads us on to the end of journey is not. He is leading us home.

So when you feel down, alone, maybe abandoned, remember God’s faithfulness, His forgetfulness and His guidance. Focusing on the ways His hand has been on your life all along with encourage you. Journal the important moments, write down the times of victory and then recall them to build your faith.