When you’re working with people, and they’re trying to make a decision on where they need to go or what they need to be doing, I often ask them, “How has God led you in the past?” They then rehearse where God has led them and that informs their current situation. They remember how he has pulled them through in the past, how he has met them in times of crisis and they receive encouragement for the present.
Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord. — Psalm 107:43 NLT
This psalm talks about all the people who were in a mess, called on God, and saw him come through for them. By looking at our history, we gain perspective. We see that there is a way out, because our memory of what God has done in the past is sharpened. Often when we get lost it’s because we forget who God is and what he’s done. We panic and run off on our own. The remedy is found in remembering God’s history of faithfulness to us.