As a young undergraduate in those years, I listened to our senior friends who came to speak to us about life after campus. I always felt uncomfortable when I heard words like, “When you leave campus, you would face reality out there.” I had to assure myself that what I was facing then on campus is reality. I only need to transpose the experience to life after campus.
Friend, don’t waste your experiences. You will need them to face the giants (1 Samuel 17:34-37). Most times, we forget what God has done in the past, so we cannot believe Him for the present. This is why we are commanded never to forget. Apart from helping us to thank God correctly, it also stirs up our faith (Psalms 103:2).
The truth is, no matter who you are and where you are, God has been good to you before (Psalms 103:1-5). Don’t allow the size of your present challenges to rob you of the substance of your past victories. Since God has done it before, He would sure do it again. Testimonies are powerful weapons of victory (Revelation 12:11).
What has God delivered you from? What has God done for you in the past (1 Samuel 17:37)? Every experience you had with God is already a seed for future experiences; to waste the experience is to waste the seed and truncate the future.
Don’t waste your experiences. You need to own your experiences with God. Don’t listen to those who want to talk you out of your experiences (1 Samuel 17:33). You need to appreciate, celebrate, and use them. It may appear little to others, but it must not be little in your eyes. If God ever made a way in the past, leverage that for the present. If He ever provided for you in the past, you can believe Him to do it again.
In life, there are blessings, and there are lessons (Psalms 103:7). Behind every blessing, there is a lesson. You need to take the lesson why you enjoy the blessing. Like David, it is those who learn the lesson around the blessing that can face the giants ahead and also repeat the manifestation (1 Samuel 17:34-37). The lessons are the ways of God, while the blessings are the acts of God.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria