By David ReayTuesday 14 Dec 2021LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath. (NLT)
Our faith is a remembering faith. We remember the mighty acts of God in history as recorded in Scripture. We remember his personal goodness towards us as we recall the blessings he has given us and others. We remember what Jesus did to show us how much we are loved by God. We remember that God calls us to live a certain way.
Such remembering does not mean we are locked into the past. It means that what has happened in the past helps shape what happens in the present and may happen in the future. If we are tempted to doubt God’s goodness in the present, we can remember his goodness in the past. If we are fearful for the future, we can remember his faithfulness in the past.
If we forget to remember, then we forsake our solid anchorage, we get absorbed in our immediate circumstances so that we lose our bearings. This is what Moses warned the Israelites against. Once settle in the promised land, they might forget about the God who led them there in the first place.
Remembering, in general, shapes our lives even if we are not always aware of it. Remembering allows us to put our present lives into perspective. Remembering reminds us that our small sphere of life is just one part of a larger world. Which is why we must not forget to remember.
Blessings,
David