Remembrance 2

We can forget God's faithfulness to us.

This was going to be an issue for the nation of Israel, and Moses warned the people about it. 

Deuteronomy 8:2 "And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not."

He reminds them about what God has done for them, and gives them a warning.

Deuteronomy 8:19 "Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish."

Remembrance was going to be vital to their relationship with God, and it is to ours as well. 

If we forget how God has brought us out of our own particular Egypt and done miraculous works in our lives, then we are very likely to find ourselves following the modern versions of other gods, or believing that where we are now in life is all because of our own merit and strength.

Psalm 103 puts the challenge of remembrance so beautifully.

Psalm 103:1-5 "Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

Positive remembrance is a powerful force that can lift our faith, and reassure us in times when we are facing the manifestations of the enemy's kingdom on the Earth. 

David, when faced with Goliath, remembered how God had given him strength in defeating the lion and the bear that had come to attack his sheep.

1 Samuel 17:37 "Moreover David said, "The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine..."

Now I'm not trying to stretch this to say David spent five minutes a day being quiet before the Lord. I think being a shepherd he probably had way more opportunity to be silent before the Lord than five minutes. 

Of course this was when he wasn't actively worshipping and praising God out loud, and leaving us a multitude of wonderful psalms to help us connect what we experience in our lives to our faith in God.

David's life was not crowded out with an intensely active media invasion.

Our lives often are.

Positive remembrance is an important part of our relationship with God that can sometimes be missed in our talking, busy, thinking of ourselves or others' prayer life. 

We need to spend some moments in silence. 

We need to allow time for God to bring to our remembrance the good things He has done for us. 

The enemy will have a harder time pushing us off track if we have remembered God's goodness as we wait quietly in His presence, allowing Him to remind us of His great faithfulness in our lives.

Psalm 77:11 "I will remember the works of the Lord: Surely I will remember Your wonders of old."