Tell of His Mighty Acts

Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – October 19, 2017

By Tripp Prince

Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. Psalm 145:4 (NLT)

I recently had the privilege of spending a week in London, England. When I travel to a place like London, I spend every free minute I can find either in medieval churches or used bookshops, both of which are a small taste of heaven. On this most recent trip, I was particularly moved by a visit to the noonday service at St. Paul’s Cathedral. To walk into St. Paul’s is to take your place amongst tens of thousands of Christians who have, over countless generations, worshipped the Lord and longed for his presence in their lives and in their communities. It is a building that tells the story of a people, a story of pain and sorrow, yet more frequently a story that clings to the hope of heaven.

As the service concluded, I worked my way through the expansive halls and unspeakable beauty that awaited me at every turn. Eventually I found myself in the underground crypt in which Christians have been buried for hundreds of years. As I walked through this holy space, I came across a tombstone from the 1700s, barely legible due to centuries of foot traffic. Yet as I looked closely, I found an inscription that read, “Laid to rest by her heartbroken husband in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection.” What a story of loss and hope these simple words contained!

“Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord” (Psalm 22:30).

We can so quickly get caught up in the needs and concerns of our own day that we forget the countless people who have gone before us. People like the one I encountered in this tombstone, with hearts ripped apart due to grief and loss, yet in their grief clinging with all they have to the power of God and the promise that all will one day be well. If we can take the time to open our hearts and our ears to their voices, we can find in their stories fellow pilgrims on the way, friends to encourage us and call us forward in faithfulness and strength.

As I encountered this tombstone and the story it told, I wondered if any part of my own life might be an encouragement to someone 300 years from now? Am I living in such a way that in my joys and in my sorrows I intentionally and explicitly tell the stories of God’s faithfulness in my life? You and I have been given just a few short years to live. While you still have breath, take time to tell of God’s faithfulness in your life, of his power and his loving kindness to you and those you love. Do not let your life be a missed opportunity to encourage and strengthen the faith of others, even those not yet born. Your faithfulness in life and death can be a story of God’s mighty acts that lives on for generations to come!

“Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 6:9).

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