MONDAY MOTIVATION - S.T.O.R.M. Seasons That Often Retain Memories

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Welcome to Monday Motivation from Manifestation of His Glory Network, Inc.

I am grateful that you have taken time to enter this online sanctuary today. Wherever you are reading from, I believe God has something in His Word that is going to meet you right where you are.

Have you ever noticed how something can happen today and immediately take you back to something that happened years ago?

It can be a conversation.

A change in somebody's tone.

A disappointment.

A door closing.

A relationship changing.

A season shifting.

Something happens in the present, but what you feel seems much bigger than what just happened.

Why?

Because sometimes you are not responding only to what is happening.

You are also responding to what it reminded you of.

This morning, the Lord gave me one word:

S.T.O.R.M.

Seasons That Often Retain Memories.

Listen.

Every storm does not leave when the rain stops.

Sometimes the clouds move.

The winds settle.

The season changes.

Life moves forward.

But something from that season remains in the memory.

And memories are powerful.

A memory can remind you of God's faithfulness.

A memory can preserve a testimony.

A memory can remind you of what God brought you through.

But a memory can also influence how you interpret something that is happening right now.

And this is where we have to be careful.

Because what remains in your memory does not have to remain in authority over your life.

Before we go any further, let's pray.

Father, in the name of Jesus, thank You for allowing us to gather around Your Word once again.

Thank You for every person who has entered this online sanctuary. Thank You for keeping us through seasons we understood and seasons we did not understand.

As we open Your Word today, search us. Show us anything from an old season that is still influencing how we respond in this one.

Give us discernment to know the difference between wisdom and fear, between remembrance and bondage, between what happened then and what You are doing now.

Heal what needs to be healed. Correct what needs to be corrected. Strengthen what needs to be strengthened.

And let Your Word have full access to us today.

In Jesus' name, Amen!

Now, let's get into the Word of God!

Psalm 107:28–30 KJV says:

“Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.”

There was a storm.

There was trouble.

There was distress.

But there was also God.

And somebody needs to remember that today.

Because when we remember difficult seasons, sometimes we remember everything that happened to us and forget to remember Who kept us while it was happening.

You remember how badly it hurt.

But remember God kept you.

You remember what you lost.

But remember God sustained you.

You remember who walked away.

But remember God remained.

You remember the nights you cried.

But remember morning kept coming.

You remember the storm.

But don't leave God out of the memory!

Because if you're going to remember the storm, remember the God who brought you through it.

And this brings me to my first point today, men and women of God.

THE SEASON CHANGED, BUT THE MEMORY STAYED

Sometimes the calendar moves faster than the heart.

The situation is over.

The relationship ended.

The environment changed.

The door closed.

The season shifted.

But internally, something remained.

Israel gives us a picture of this in Numbers 14.

God had already brought Israel out of Egypt. They were no longer under Pharaoh's authority. They were no longer living where they had been enslaved.

But when pressure came, their thinking went backward.

Numbers 14:3–4 KJV says:

“And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.”

Did you see that?

They were physically out of Egypt, but under pressure, Egypt came back into the conversation.

Come on here!

God had changed their location, but the memory of what they knew was still influencing how they responded to what they didn't know.

And somebody reading this needs to hear me.

You can be out of the season and still have the season living in your response.

You can be in a healthy relationship and still respond from an unhealthy one.

You can be in a safe environment and still operate as though you are under attack.

You can have people who genuinely love you and still question everybody's motives because somebody before them betrayed your trust.

You can enter a new opportunity and immediately expect it to fail because something similar failed before.

That does not mean you are weak.

But it does mean there may be something that needs God's attention.

Ask yourself:

Am I responding to what is happening now, or am I responding to what this reminds me of?

That's a different question.

Because sometimes what we call discernment is actually memory talking.

Sometimes what we call wisdom is fear trying to protect itself.

And sometimes what we call “just being careful” is an old season trying to control a new one.

Pay close attention.

God is not asking you to forget everything that happened.

Some memories contain wisdom.

Some memories contain lessons.

Some memories remind you never to return to something God delivered you from.

But there is a difference between learning from your history and living under its authority.

Stay with me here, because this takes us deeper.

If an old season can remain in your response, then we have to be careful about allowing yesterday to interpret today.

And that brings me to my next point.

DON'T LET AN OLD STORM INTERPRET A NEW SEASON

Isaiah 43:18–19 KJV says:

“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?”

Listen.

Resemblance is not always repetition.

Just because something feels familiar does not mean it is the same thing happening again.

That person is not automatically the person who hurt you.

This opportunity is not automatically the opportunity that failed.

This relationship is not automatically the relationship that betrayed you.

This church is not automatically the church where you were wounded.

This season is not automatically the season that almost destroyed you.

But if retained memories become your interpreter, you can stand in something completely new and respond as though you are still surviving something old.

And here is the question:

Can you recognize the new thing if every new thing is being examined through the memory of the old thing?

God says, “Behold, I will do a new thing.”

That word behold demands attention.

Look!

Pay attention!

Recognize what I am doing!

Because it is possible to be so busy watching for yesterday to happen again that you fail to recognize what God is doing today.

Somebody has been asking God for new while unconsciously requiring new to answer for what old did.

That's not fair to the people God sends.

That's not fair to the opportunities God opens.

And it can interfere with your ability to receive what God is doing now.

This is why healing matters.

Healing doesn't erase your intelligence.

Healing doesn't make you gullible.

Healing doesn't mean you ignore warning signs.

Healing doesn't mean you remove healthy boundaries.

Healing means yesterday no longer gets an automatic vote in every decision you make today.

That's good right there!

You can remember without reliving.

You can learn without becoming imprisoned by the lesson.

You can establish boundaries without building walls around your entire life.

You can recognize danger without assuming danger is everywhere.

And you can acknowledge what happened without expecting it to happen again every time something feels familiar.

The storm taught you something.

Take the wisdom.

But don't take the chains.

And this brings me to my final point.

LET THE MEMORY BECOME A TESTIMONY, NOT A RESIDENCE

Psalm 77 gives us something powerful.

Asaph is distressed. His thoughts are heavy. His memory is active.

But something shifts.

Psalm 77:11 KJV says:

“I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.”

Look at what he did.

He did not stop remembering.

He changed what he gave his attention to within the memory.

Instead of allowing trouble to dominate the story, he deliberately remembered the works of the Lord.

And maybe that is what somebody needs to do today.

If you're going to remember what happened, remember who kept you while it was happening.

Remember that you survived.

Remember that God provided.

Remember that you prayed when you didn't think you had another prayer in you.

Remember the strength He gave you.

Remember the door He opened.

Remember the wisdom you gained.

Remember the people He sent.

Remember the night you thought would never end and how morning still came.

Remember how you thought you would never smile again.

But you did.

Remember how you thought you would never trust again.

But God has been healing you.

Remember how you thought that season would destroy you.

But you're still here!

The memory may remain.

But its authority has to change.

That memory does not have to remain a place where you live.

Let it become a testimony.

“I remember what happened, but I also remember what God did.”

“I remember the pain, but I also remember the healing.”

“I remember the loss, but I also remember the provision.”

“I remember the storm, but I also remember the God who spoke to the storm.”

And hear me clearly.

There may still be moments when a memory catches you unexpectedly.

There may still be things that require healing, prayer, wise counsel, forgiveness, boundaries, or time.

Healing does not always mean you never feel anything again.

Sometimes healing means what you feel no longer controls what you do.

That's freedom.

S.T.O.R.M.

Seasons That Often Retain Memories.

The season may retain the memory.

But the memory does not have to retain you.

And before we leave this online sanctuary, I cannot talk about being free from what was without talking about the One who gives us new life.

His name is Jesus.

Maybe you've been trying to survive every storm in your own strength.

Maybe you've learned how to function, produce, smile, work, and keep going, but you know something is missing.

Or maybe you once walked closely with God, but somewhere through the storms of life you became disconnected.

Jesus is calling you.

You don't have to fix everything before you come.

You don't have to heal yourself first.

You don't have to have all the answers.

Romans 10:9 KJV says:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

If that's you, pray with me.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I acknowledge that I am a sinner and I need a Savior. I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins and that You raised Him from the dead. Forgive me. Cleanse me. Make me new. Jesus, I receive You as my Lord and Savior. Order my steps, teach me Your Word, and help me follow You from this day forward.

In Jesus' name, Amen!

If you prayed that prayer and believed it in your heart, welcome to the family of God!

Get into the Word of God. Develop your prayer life. Connect with a Bible believing church where you can grow, be taught the Word, and mature in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

And know that we are rejoicing with you right here at Manifestation of His Glory Network, Inc.

Now, before we leave this online sanctuary, let me pray for you.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for every person reading this Word.

You know every storm.

You know every season.

You know every memory.

You know the memories they talk about and the ones they never mention.

Father, wherever an old season is still influencing a present response, bring healing.

Where fear has been masquerading as wisdom, give discernment.

Where pain has produced walls, give wisdom for healthy boundaries without imprisonment.

Where yesterday has been interpreting today, help us see clearly.

Teach us to remember Your faithfulness alongside our history.

We will not deny what happened, but neither will we allow what happened to become lord over what happens next.

Heal the places that still hurt.

Restore the places that became guarded.

Renew our minds.

Settle our hearts.

And give us courage to enter new seasons without demanding that they answer for old ones.

The storm will not have the final word.

You will.

In Jesus' name, Amen!

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GIVE

Give as the Lord leads you, and thank you to everyone who prays, gives, shares these messages, and supports the work God has entrusted to this ministry.

Men and women of God, thank you for joining me for Monday Motivation.

As you move through this week, pay attention to what your responses are telling you.

When something in the present awakens something from the past, don't immediately assume you're back in the old season.

Stop.

Pray.

Discern.

Ask God:

“Am I responding to what is happening, or am I responding to what this reminds me of?”

And then remember something else.

God brought you through before.

The storm didn't take you.

The season didn't destroy you.

The pain didn't get the final word.

God kept you!

So take the wisdom.

Keep the testimony.

Receive the healing.

And keep moving.

S.T.O.R.M.

Seasons That Often Retain Memories.

The storm may have left a memory.

But the memory does not get to become your master.

My prayer remains the same:

That you logged in one way and you are logging out another!

May God heal what you remember, strengthen what remains, sharpen your discernment, and give you grace to recognize the new thing He is doing.

Go in peace.

Go in wisdom.

Go in freedom.

And when you remember the storm, remember the God who brought you through it!

God bless you!

Apostle Dr. G. Denise Gray

Lead Apostle & General Overseer

Manifestation of His Glory Network, Inc