Speaker: Darlene Sala | Series: Encouraging Words | I’ve noticed that many of the Psalms repeat the story of the Israelites as they made their way from Egypt to the land that God promised them. Over and over you will read similar accounts of those same events.  I used to wonder what the reason was for the repetition. Didn’t the Israelites know the story already?

Then I read these verses in Psalm 106:

He commanded the Red Sea to dry up.
He led Israel across the sea as if it were a desert….
Then the water returned and covered their enemies;
not one of them survived.
Then his people believed his promises.
Then they sang his praise.

Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done! (Psalm 106:9-13, excerpted NLT).

And then I understood why the repetition, because I too tend to forget so quickly what God has done in my life. And that’s when discouragement sets in.

Stop right now and list three good things that God has done for you this year. No, don’t put it off until later. Grab a pencil and jot them down right now. If God has done these things for you in the past, is He going to forsake you now?  No, of course not.

Ann Voskamp became famous for her book One Thousand Gifts, in which she advocates writing down three blessings each day—even little things, like finding a beautiful leaf, the delectable taste of chocolate, or a hug from your son. Some will be big blessings and others simple things. But if you will write down just three things each day, by the end of a year, you will have a record of one thousand blessings God has sent your way. Try it and see what difference it makes in your attitude even this week.