"Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;" (2 Peter 1:12-13)
I appreciate that, thanks. Always good to get a gentle reminder in the things of Christ. Better yet, to walk with Him to where you sense His presence and so live from that standpoint. But, as always, there are ways we end up forgetting and missing out and losing sight of Him in fog.
"But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;" (Hebrews 10:32)
Have you ever waded around an area long enough to truly get a taste of its atmosphere even as God clears both it and your head? Long enough to wrap your mind around what's truly going on where you're at? And then you see it for what it is. But did you know that there's always some level to which God wants to bring you higher? Yes. But it starts at the bottom. Every place from which up you step (a little wonky, syntactically, but it works) will necessary need to be cleared by God and by you, checking off all the points God has brought around to your attention. For instance...well, here:
"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." (Hebrews 10:35-36)
The will of God. What does that mean? It could be a test of exhibiting patience, resolve, and fortitude when dealing with a family member who doesn't know Christ. It could be the gentleness you show someone who chooses to take advantage of you in surreptitious ways. It could be...? Any number of things, that, if you're actively following Christ, you get to take part in. But I can guarantee you because things happen with reference to God first, you may not see your reward and outcome immediately. It's that time, as the writer of Hebrews expresses above, you will need to make sure all your house is in order. All the little things you did for God that delighted His heart (and still do) will need to be brought up with everything else you're doing. All the constituent parts play a part. "And God requireth that which is past." (Ecclesiastes 3:15)
God's in the details. Not the devil.