Remember

Remember

5:49

“Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?”

‭‭Psalm 77‬:‭10‬-‭13‬, NIV‬‬.

What if we are unable to remember God’s miracles from long ago?

Or what if we remembered differently than those around us?

Everyone has a different perspective.

The parting of the Red Sea, which allowed Moses and the Israelites passage out of Egypt, must have been witnessed, historians believe, by over a million people. Young and old, slave and warrior. The Egyptian’s perspective of what happened would be very different than the Israelites. But each Israelite had their own point of view of their dash towards freedom.

Can you imagine a conversation between a parent and their child as they talked about what happened? Parents probably would never forget any detail. Even when life carried them into new memories, recall would have been fairly easy. The child might remember closing their eyes, as their parent carried them into the promised land.

Recently, I had a different perspective conversation with one of my sons. I was cleaning out my car and I came across an old cd that had the song, “Sugar, Sugar” by the Archie’s on it. A song I grew up with and every time the radio station played it, the volume would be turned up.

As my boys were growing up I’d play some of my old tunes for them. Some songs I played would receive an eye roll. While other songs would incite them to groove along with me. These memories of singing along to some of my childhood favorites with my sons were hardwired into my brain, never to be forgotten. Just hearing the first few notes brought a smile.

As I turned up the volume once again, I called one son whom I was sure would remember dancing in the car with me as I drove him to his baseball game (come to think of it—he might not have been dancing—but laughing at me).

I was getting excited as the phone rang, anticipation rising within to recall and share this moment one more time with him. But alas, he hadn’t remembered this at all. He remembered the song, but not the dancing in the car.

I hung up a bit disappointed that his memory of this special time no longer there.

Then I thought about our shared memories with God. Do we remember what He remembers? Not likely to the degree of God’s recall, but maybe in bits and pieces? However, when we do remember I’m sure He nods, (and maybe dances).

We are to recall often to keep these memories fresh and secure. We need to remind ourselves not only what He has done for and with us; but also those mighty past deeds in both the Old Testament and the New.

Forgetting what God has done must bring Him a sense of disappointment. He has asked us to recall and not forget. We need to work at remembering our shared experiences with God, and those we read about in His Word.

Can you remember three stories from the Bible that show God’s power, mercy or love? Can you remember a time when God was powerful, merciful or loving with you? Remember to share those stories often.

Father,

We are so thankful that You have given us Your written Word. That we can read and now listen to it daily. Thank You for helping us to remember all that You have done.

Help us also to remember why You have done such great things—You desire a relationship with us. You desire for us to call You LORD, Savior, Creator and Father God. You have done such marvelous things that to forget them would be a travesty.

We need to take that personal responsibility to remember.

But we know we need Your help to do this as well.

Thank You for the gifts that accompany each memory. Help us to share them with others.

Amen.