“And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.” (2 Sam. 12:8)
Expanded Passage: 2 Samuel 12:7-10
A dwindling bank account. A death in the family. A persistent sense of loneliness. All these things can tap us on the shoulder on any given day, drawing our attention to what seems to be lacking in or around us. I have lost track of the number of times I have found myself trying to force situations in a particular direction, hoping to rid myself of the ache but losing sight of a Father who gently reminds us, “You are always with me, and everything I have is yours” (Luke 15:31).
When Nathan talked with David, he passed along God’s message of remembrance, drawing David’s attention back to all the ways God had been with him, all the gifts he had given him along the way. While David was focused on hiding his misdeeds, it was as if God was saying, “The freedom you have been seeking has always been here—and then some!” But sometimes it is hard to see where we are without remembering where we have been.
Looking back helps us see our present more clearly. History is revealing, not only peeling back the layers of God’s goodness, but also giving us a lens through which to see our present moment. Remembrance helps us recall God’s abundance, to remember a God who says, “If all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.”
Make a list of all the ways you have seen God’s goodness.
Sarah E. Westfall is an author and speaker who currently resides in northeast Indiana with her husband Ben and their four boys; she is a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
