REMEMBER

“Then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Deuteronomy 6:12 ESV

When I was in elementary school, I was admitted to the hospital for ten days due to a fluid build-up in my jaw. I was unable to open my mouth and was in incredible pain. The doctors and surgeons on staff prepared me for surgery to try to drain the fluid (a procedure that would have to be partly done while I was awake). My parents stayed awake the night before the surgery praying for healing over me. The surgeon walked into my room the morning of the procedure, and I greeted him with a wide-mouthed smile. You can imagine his greater shock when I went on to eat a massive hamburger later that day – pain-free. Needless to say, I went home a few days later without surgery but with complete healing.

This story is so powerful for me because it reminds me of who God is. It reminds me that God is my HEALER and my PROVIDER. God is my PROTECTOR and my SHIELD. For me, this was one of the first experiences I had where God tangibly and miraculously intervened drastically in my life. It was a teaching moment for me on the character of God. I think many of us can recall moments in our lives, in the lives of those close to us, or even in the Bible, where God displayed His character in a mighty way. Oftentimes, the question is not whether we know God’s character. Often, the question is whether we remember God’s character in the tough moments of our lives.

As I read through the first five books of the Bible, sometimes I’m shocked at the forgetfulness of the Israelites. I read Chapter 14 about how God sent plagues to their oppressors, delivered them from bondage and paved a highway directly through the Red Sea. And yet, in Chapter 16, they are complaining about being hungry and wanting to return to Egypt. However, the Israelites did not just read Chapter 14 – they have forgotten. Their current struggles had overcome them to the point where they forgot the pride they felt when their God stood by His word and sent the plagues; they forgot the freedom they felt walking out of Egypt and forgot the awe they felt as God led them through the Red Sea. And just like the Israelites, we find ourselves being forgetful as well. How often do we find ourselves questioning God’s character when it seems like nothing is going our way? Forgetting all of the times that God has proved Himself to be exactly who He says He is.

This is one of the purposes of the Bible – to remember. The Bible is a sacred letter from God to us, reminding us of what He has done and what He has promised to do. Jesus knows how we are quick to forget. The day before His crucifixion, He broke bread and drank wine with his disciples to represent the ultimate sacrifice to occur the next day. And Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24b). We remember Jesus’ sacrifice through communion because if we do not continually remind ourselves of the goodness of God, we will find ourselves forgetting. If we do not continually remind ourselves of the love of God, we will find ourselves questioning. And if we do not continually remind ourselves of the truth of God, we will find ourselves wandering. God is GOOD. He is LOVE, and He is TRUTH. But the power of these promises is found in remembering them.

So, for the rest of my days, I will continue to recall the stories of God’s faithfulness in my life, for I know that the God who provided for me in the past is the God who will provide for me in the future. What would it look like if we made remembering God’s faithfulness as important as praying for faithfulness in tough times? What change would occur if we made it a priority to recall what God has already done?

What if remembering what God has done is not so far apart from understanding who He is?