Remembrance
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Psalm 78 “Sanctified Memory” in Endless Grace by Ryan Whitaker Smith and Dan Wilt
“Father, grant me a sanctified memory to recall the things You have done in the midst of human history - things hidden from the foundation of the world, made manifest in the fullness of time.
May I, with holy hindsight, be one with all the saints before me, as I tell Your story again and again - that godly wisdom be passed down, generation to generation.
*To read the rest, the book is listed in resources
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The Spiritual Discipline of Remembrance by Sarah Urban
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“It is not by any new revelation that the Spirit comforts, He does so by telling us old things over again. He brings a fresh lamp to manifest the treasures hidden in Scripture. He unlocks the strong chests where the truth had long been, and he points to secret chambers filled with untold riches. However, he mints no new coins, for enough is done. There is enough in the Bible for you to live on forever.” (Charles Spurgeon, Holy Spirit Power)
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Psalm 18:16-19 (NIV)
He reached down from on high and took hold of me he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Deuteronomy 4:9 (NLT)
John 14:26 (ESV)
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The Last Supper by Leonardo DaVinci
Tulip Field by Antonie Lodewijk Koster
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Remembering God
by Wendy Gerdes
Tired, I walked into my young daughter’s room with a lot on my mind. Our fledgling business was struggling and I was juggling the demands of being a young mom. Money was foremost on my mind as I worried about all of the unknowns. I glanced out the window and that’s when I saw them. Cows. Up on the horizon I saw a field with the faint outline of cows I had never seen before. Right when my eyes fell on the grazing cattle, I felt God whisper to my heart, “I own those,” and relief flooded my heart.
Those three simple words unlocked my memory and the fear and anxiety began to dissipate. I remembered God is the beginning and the end. He cares for the sparrow and He cares for my family. He owns the cattle on 1,000 hills. Remembering His bigness calmed my fears.
He sees our needs before we ever do and His ability to provide far surpasses any need we could ever have no matter what that need is. He has all the wisdom, all the power, all the kindness, all the grace, all the love and all the resources we could ever need. In that cheerful bedroom, my mind immediately began to go back to all of the answered prayers, all of the times God had shown up in our lives and all of the ways I had seen His faithfulness through the years.
This doesn’t mean we won’t go through hard things but this does mean whatever we go through, we can be assured we have the Good God who is big enough by our side and we can choose to remember Him.
Remembering Him always results in trusting Him. Remembering means turning our hearts towards what is true. This is different than dismissing our struggles. Instead we are doing something with them. We are remembering the faithful God who daily bears any burden we may be carrying and reminding ourselves we are truly never alone. He will live our lives with us today, tomorrow, the next day and for our entire lives, but it takes remembering Him and His goodness for us to be able to do this.
When we forget, we tend to carry our burdens on our own and can get lost in our own worlds of discontent, fears and misgivings. So many of our fears would be alleviated if we remembered we are not alone in them and God surrounds us every moment of our life whether we are aware of it or not. When we live a life of remembering , we live differently. Remembering puts us in a position to receive God’s care for us and reminds us we are not left to do life on our own with our own wisdom and strength. Instead, we are invited to do life with Him. Remembering doesn’t make Him care for us more, but allows us to see what has been true all along. Let’s remember the faithful God who never leaves us.
In what area of your life do you need to remember God?
Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
To read more by Wendy click here
