Remembering

Remembering has been on my mind alot this week.

Wednesday service was on Romans 15. The key point from the night was verse 13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." The speaker talked about the importance of remembering God's work. This remembering leads us to believing in His faithfulness, which allows us to trust Him and be filled with hope for the future, both immediate and eternal. We have no shortage of goodness to remember. From the beginning of the Bible, through the promises to the Israelites and the patriarchs, to the Cross, the Resurrection, and on until the individual ways that God has blessed us. Remember His faithfulness.

Thursday's small group is focused on worship. We talked again about remembering, and the Lord challenged me even more. If you haven't read the sermon "A Room Called Remember" by Frederick Buechner, I highly recommend it. Buechner talks about how we are constantly moving, and when we are not moving we are quick to turn on the radio or TV, turn to the computer, stay busy. We don't readily take advantage of moments of silence in order to ponder, remember. Why don't we? Sometimes it hurts to remember. It hurts to remember times of sin, times of pain or disappointment. It makes us regret. In 1 Chronicles 16 David says, "O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples!....Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his presence continually! Remember the wonderful works that he has done, the wonders he wrought, the judgments he uttered." David had alot of yuck to remember. Adultery and pregnancy with Bathsheeba, the murder of Naboth, the loss of his son. Yet, David saw the value, the necessity of looking back on his life because the Lord saves! God is glorified when we look back on our lives, because we see His goodness, and are reminded that we are here only by His grace. It is beautiful. And when we remember the happy times, we are blown away by His incredible blessing. Remember is crucial. It produces trust in God, a reminder that we are here by grace alone, and we are filled with hope.

Shonni over at Nations Around Our Table posted about remembering today as well. I encourage you to read her post. She wrote about remembering her children's pasts before they came home to their family. Her life as a mom requires her to face her children's scarred pasts daily, to meet their wounded hearts with compassion as they work through wounds from years as orphans. This is an example of something hard to remember. Yet so crucial for her to help their precious hearts come to a place of healing. And I imagine that remembering where they've been and where they're at now is an encouraging experience, to see all that God has done in their family and children through adoption. Sometimes we are called not to remember our own lives but help others remember. I spent some time on the phone today with a friend trying to help her remember God's goodness in her life.

Remembering is life-giving. Take some time to ponder what God has done. What has He saved you from? What has He done for you? What blessings has He brought to you? This can be an important influence in childhood, your family, a hard season that ended up changing you, etc. Anything that reminds you of His faithfulness, His sovereignty, His grace. Make a list, and praise the Lord for each one!

Remember. See His faithfulness. Trust. Hope.