Did you ever get a case of the shoulda coulda woulda’s filling you with doubt or regret? Are you in a trial that is keeping unsettled and unsure? This is the time to remember what the Lord has done. That perfect blessing tucked into your memory. That’s a gift, one that you can go to any time. So, stop and take notice of His lovingkindness.

Psalm 77 starts with a lamenting David. Again, something is not going right in his life. Like so many other psalms, he is crying out to the Lord.

My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.

In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness;
My soul refused to be comforted. (verses 1-2)

It sounds like David hasn’t heard from God in a while and is becoming distraught.

Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again?

Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever? (v. 7-8)

The Lord’s silence doesn’t mean He hasn’t heard you. As much as we’d like it, He doesn’t answer prayer on command. Like a loving father, He asks us to wait until we can handle the gifts He wants to give.

In God’s lovingkindness He is working something in the background, arranging circumstances perfectly, before we can receive His answer. Guess what? We may never know what that something was.

For some of our requests, the time may never be right. Sometimes the answer will be, “No, this is not for you.”

Going back to the psalm, we see that David takes a different approach. He encourages himself by remembering what the Lord has done.

I shall remember the deeds of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

I will meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds. (v. 11-12)

Remembering what He has done builds confidence for what He will do. In the tough times try reorienting your focus away from the problem to God’s love for you.

Meditate on His word. Spend time in prayer. Simply, praise Him for all the ways He shows His love. Remember the many blessings, from the air we breathe to the majesty of His creation. And thank Him.

Thank God by showing His love to others. Love is a fruit of the Spirit and it’s meant to share. When we receive Jesus, by faith, we also receive the Holy Spirit. Trust Him to help you hold onto those perfect blessings so that you may remember the depth of God’s love and tell others about it, too.

Go to the Table of Contents to read more posts in this series on the Fruit of the Spirit as they go live.

31 Days of Five Minute Friday Free-Writes, it’s a writing challenge hosted by Kate Motaung over at Five Minute Fridays. We write daily for five minutes using a prompt Kate provides. The point is to write. The prompt today is MEMORY.