This world is full of trials and tribulations as we were forewarned by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. However, the good news is that He promised us that these challenges were of no consequence because He had already overcome on our behalf. Thank you Jesus!
Have you ever experienced the delivering and rescuing power of God? I’m talking about those moments when your situation looks completely hopeless — but suddenly God’s amazing grace intervenes and your situation is miraculously changed! Can you think of moments like this in your past?
It’s amazing that when we are confronted with a new challenge, we often fail to remember God’s faithfulness in the past. Our perspective gets blurry because of the problems we are currently facing, and we forget that we’ve gone through similar or worse circumstances before. The looming mountain of problems before us looks so big that we momentarily fail to remember all the other mountains we’ve already faced and overcome with the help of God.
I am reminded of the children of Israel on their way to the promised land. God performed many miracles such as parting the Red Sea, provision of manna, water coming out of the rock, but they kept on complaining to Moses and even yearned to go back to Egypt. Instead of looking at God’s track record, they were so blinded by their unbelief and consequently only two from that generation managed to see the promised land, Joshua and Caleb.
We should always remember that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He changes not. If He has rescued us before, that is good enough evidence that He will do it again when we are confronted with challenges. He will never leave nor forsake us.
When Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, the younger man was facing the biggest mountain of his life. Nero had become the emperor of the Roman Empire. Because of his tyrannical rule, believers were being persecuted and were even dying for their faith. In the midst of all the panic, Timothy was tempted to fear for his life and his future. He must have wondered, Is God going to be faithful to me in this terrible hour? We all do that at times.
So in Second Timothy 1:5, Paul tells Timothy, “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also.” Paul wanted to remind Timothy about something very important!
God’s faithfulness was a part of Timothy’s family heritage. His grandmother trusted the Lord and the Lord had never failed her or let her down. His mother trusted the Lord — and the Lord had never failed her or let her down either. Because Timothy was dealing with great stress and difficulty, Paul took the opportunity to remind him that just as God had never failed his grandmother or mother, neither would He abandon Timothy in his difficult hour.
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Then Paul told him, “…I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6). I want you to particularly focus on the phrase, “I put thee in remembrance.” It is taken from the Greek word anamimnesko, a compound of the words ana and mimnesko. Pay close attention, because this is very important! The word ana means again or to repeat something. The second part of the word mimnesko means to be reminded of something, such as memories.
When these two words are joined together as in this verse, it means to regather or to recollect memories. The little prefix ana carries the idea of replaying these memories over and over again in your mind, the way you would hit the rewind button on your video player so you can back up and watch one part of a movie over and over again.
This means there are some memories we should never forget! For example, we should constantly hit the rewind button in our minds and “replay” the times that God has been faithful to us in the past — delivering us, healing us, and rescuing us time and time again. We should “replay” those scenes in our minds until we never forget His faithfulness to us.
You could translate Second Timothy 1:6 in the following way:
“I am putting you in memory of all these things, so that by your remembering them, you might stir up the gift of God that is in you….”
Paul reminds Timothy (and us) to take our eyes off these times of trouble or the present crisis and to remember God’s delivering and rescuing power in the past. If we really looked at our past, we would find that we have faced other moments more severe than the one we’re facing right now — and God never failed us or let us down. In fact, He delivered us and turned those situations around. When I look back in my own life, I can vividly see situations where if God had not been on my side, the enemy would have had me for breakfast.
I am reminded of David in Psalm 124:1-7.
1 If the LORD had not been on our side— let Israel say—
2 if the LORD had not been on our side when people attacked us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us;
4 the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters would have swept us away.
6 Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.
This Psalm is a song of thanksgiving, celebrating God’s powerful deliverance of Israel from overwhelming enemies, emphasizing that their survival wasn’t by their own strength but by God’s direct intervention, acting as a dam against floods of opposition and freeing them like a bird from a snare, teaching reliance on God as the Creator. It encourages believers to acknowledge God’s crucial role in their past and present, praise Him for His protection, and share these testimonies.
Every believer has had a situation where God has delivered them from one challenge or another, it could have been financial, relational or sickness where God had to intervene and rescued you with His mighty hand. Such situations should always strengthen our faith when we are facing difficult situations.
The Bible says “If you faint during the day of your adversity then your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10).
Fainting in adversity, means your strength is small, revealing a need to build inner fortitude, trust God, and develop resilience before tough times hit, as trials expose our true character and preparedness, prompting a choice to either “toughen up” or continue failing under pressure by relying on inner reserves or seeking divine help to overcome.
Your past experiences in how God delivered you from challenges can help in build that inner fortitude that you will certainly require when you are confronted with challenges tomorrow.
Don’t ever forget what God has already done for you, for those memories will stir you up and encourage you to face your present dilemma with faith. Just as God has always been faithful to you in the past, He will be faithful to you right now.
Never forget how:
-God has delivered you.
-God has saved you.
-God has guided and directed you.
-God has brought you through difficult trials.
-God has provided for you during hard financial times.
-God has protected you from the snare of the enemy.
So the next time the devil tells you there is no way you’ll survive what you’re facing, take the time to get alone with the Lord. As you replay those memories over and over in your mind, your faith will rise to a new level of confidence. You’ll be able to look your problems right in the face and say, “God’s record with me has always been faithfulness, and I know He’ll be faithful to me now as well!”
