The Power of Remembering by Joel Osteen

My father used to tell a story about this old, country farmer. He was always shouting and rejoicing. He just had a song of thanksgiving coming out of his heart. His friends were always giving him a hard time about why he was so happy and why he was always smiling. One day, he was out walking with his mule when his friends came up to him and said, “Hey, we just can’t figure you out. You never look like you’re in a bad mood. You’re never down and depressed. You’re always so happy. What is it with you?” He said, “Let me tell you what it is. Years ago, I was an alcoholic. I had so many addictions. I messed up in my marriage. My kids wouldn’t talk to me. I had no joy, no peace. But one day, I got down on my knees and asked God to help me. And little by little, He began to change me. He broke the addictions off my life. He restored my marriage. He gave me a new sense of purpose. He filled me with His joy and His peace. And today I’m free; I’m happy; I’m whole.” And the more He talked about it, the more excited he got. Finally, he said, “Guys, God’s done so much for me, I just can’t keep quiet. Will you do me a favor? Hold my mule while I shout.”

You see this farmer had incredible joy because he never forgot how God had delivered him. He never forgot how God restored his marriage. His constant remembering filled him with peace, victory and joy. There is incredible power in remembering the great things God has done in our lives. It’s one of the keys to living a life of victory. God has done great things for every one of us, and it’s important on a daily basis to remember those good things that God has done.

If you sit around thinking about some sad event, even though it may have happened two or three years ago, before long, you’re going to feel sad. You’re going to feel discouraged, and you’ll begin to feel that same emotion all over again. On the other hand, you may be at home one day all alone, and all of a sudden, you think about something your child did—a tender moment, a hug, a kiss, a funny story. That memory will bring a smile to your face. It’ll bring that same warmth, that same joy to your heart. What made you happy? Right memories. What made you sad? Wrong memories.

What are you remembering today? Some people choose to only remember the pain, the disappointments, the heartaches and their failures. They’re always focused on the negative. “Oh, Joel, it’s so hard, and my back’s hurting, my child’s off course, the dishwasher broke and the dog’s depressed.” No, quit dwelling on that junk. It’s only going to make you more depressed! Start thinking about all the times that God brought you through. Think about that time when you were so tired and worn out, and you didn’t think you could go on. But God renewed your strength, restored your vision and gave you a new beginning. And here you are today, still going strong. Think about the time it didn’t look like your plans were going to work out. It didn’t look like you’d get that new position. It didn’t look like you’d qualify for that new home, but all of a sudden, God intervened. He showed you His favor. People went out of their way to help you. Everything fell into place. Don’t take that for granted. It may have happened ten years ago. That’s okay. Recall it often. It will build your faith.

I think about the Israelites. God did so much for them. He supernaturally brought them out of slavery. He sent plague after plague on their enemies. It is so amazing that the Israelites were living right there among the enemy, and yet, those plagues never bothered them. God eventually brought them out. He delivered them from years of bondage and abuse. As they were leaving, they came to a dead end at the Red Sea. Pharaoh had changed his mind and was chasing after them. They looked as good as dead. It looked pretty hopeless, but God supernaturally parted the Red Sea, drowned their enemies, and they were able to head toward the Promised Land.

You would think after all that, they would be so grateful, so excited and so full of faith. But what’s amazing to me is how quickly they got discouraged and started complaining. “Moses, what are we going to eat out here? What are we going to drink? There’s not any food. We’re in the wilderness. We may starve to death.” You would think that since they just saw God part the Red Sea and saw miracle after miracle, surely, they would be convinced that God was going to take care of them. But do you know what their problem was? They forgot what God had done. They were so busy focusing on their present problems, they forgot about all the miraculous things God had done in the past. This happens to be one of those times in the Bible where it talks about God getting angry. Notice, God didn’t get angry at a bunch of sinners, He got angry at people that took His goodness for granted. He got angry at people that were not being grateful for what He had done. We have to make a decision that we’re going to recall the good things God has done in our lives. Let’s not be like the Israelites.

I don’t know about you, but no matter what comes my way in life, I’m not going to complain about it and start thinking, “Well, I’ll probably never get out of debt; I’ll probably never get out of this mess; I don’t see how my dreams are going to come to pass.” No, I’m going to go back and remember all the Red Seas that God has parted in my life. I’m going to remember how God spared my life on the freeway. I’m going to remember how God gave me a beautiful wife. I’m going to remember how God healed my mother. I’m going to remember how, against all odds, God gave us this beautiful Compaq Center for our worship facility.

A simple exercise that will help you remember the great victories God has done in your life is to write them down. I would encourage you to keep a notebook, something like a diary or a journal. When something happens that you know is God, you know God opened up a door, you know God spared your life or you know God spoke to you, write it down. Maybe you were down and God quickened a scripture and lifted your spirits, write that down.

Then on a regular basis, get that notebook out and read about all the great things God has done in your life. You talk about being encouraged! When you start reading about how God opened up this door for you, protected you over there, restored you here, healed you there; that’s going to build your faith. Learn to meditate on these good things. Get it deep down on the inside.

Especially in our times of difficulty, especially when we’re tempted to get discouraged, we need to get that notebook out and read it again and again and again. If you do that, you will not go through the day discouraged and defeated. You will know that you know that you know that God is in control of your life. He’s got you in the palm of His hand, and He’s going to bring you through with the victory.

Start remembering the great things that God has done in your life. You may not be as far as you would like, but when you look back, you need to remember how God has led you, protected you, promoted you and increased you all along the way. Don’t take that for granted. Friends, there’s power in remembering. If you’ll use your memory for the right purposes — to recall your victories, your successes and what God has done — then that’s going to build your faith. And no matter what comes against you in life, you’ll rise above it. You’ll know if God did it for you once, He’ll do it for you again.