If you remove the first three letters of NOVEMBER and replace them with REM, it becomes REMEMBER. Isn’t that what November is all about? Remembering what you and I are (or should be) thankful for. The season of Thanksgiving.

But, is it really about how “you” or “I” have been blessed? I get a little weary of reading the much repeated phrase-“blessed beyond measure” on multiple posts on Instagram or Facebook, because a lot of times it “seems” like folks are referring to being financially or materially blessed. 

Hasn’t God blessed us… “spiritually”? Maybe you can’t see it because you are only looking in one direction: forward. We’ve been told to never look back. I get it. When Lot’s wife turned around and looked back at the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, she paid for it with her life. Even Paul said (in Philippians) that he “presses on”.  

Mary Elma Lamb Ferree said, “You won’t know where you are going until you know where you have been.” I’m not suggesting we should dwell on the past and remain stuck. What about looking back at the times when God showed up in your life. Is it possible that you will gain strength to move ahead with your life once you look back at the times God carried you, and yes-blessed “you”?

A close friend of mine commented recently, “Most people don’t stop and look back” as I shared with her my journey of writing my memoir, which requires looking back at over five decades of my life, journals and stretching experiences. 

How humbling it has been to “see” the hand of God in a specific way, like I’ve never noticed before. But, this only occurred when I looked back. If I am only looking ahead, then I will forget all that God has done, which will make it easier to trip and “lose my spiritual footing” when adversities come.

Deuteronomy, the fifth book in the Old Testament, is the “remember” book. The theme of this book is “remember the Word”. After wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, the Israelites finally made it to the edge of the land God promised to give them. But, before they stepped foot on it, they were challenged to remember the faithfulness of God and how He kept his promises. 

“Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey His commands. Yes, He humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (8:2-3, NLT)

If the path in front of you seems dark, why not stop, and remember how God’s light has led you. Look behind you.