Rachel shares her thought for the week; remember this day.
Many of us have mobile phones and we have had this technology around for a number of years now. We use it mainly for obviously keeping in contact with people, but we also like to keep up to date with what’s going on in the world, in sport, on YouTube, and we also take photographs; we capture moments in our lives that are meaningful to us.
Because this technology has been around for so long, we now get notifications saying remember this day or a new memory for you. And when you click on the photograph, it can take you back five or ten years. And you think, “oh my word, wow, I don’t remember that!”. But actually, once you start to dig into it, once you start to remember, it transports us back to that day. We think of it in fondness. And we think of it and have that feeling of nostalgia of, “oh yes, I remember, I remember now!”.
God was the pioneer of remembering before technology even came on the radar! Because God tells us to remember the things that he has done, to teach those to our children as well and to keep him at the forefront of our minds.
Psalm 77:11 says
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
Psalm 77:11
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
Psalm 103:2 says
Bless the Lord, oh my soul,
Psalm 103:2
and forget not all his benefits.
And Psalm 143:5 says
I remember the days of old;
Psalm 143:5
I meditate on all that you have done.
I ponder the work of your hands.
And why does God tell us this? It’s not just the same as when Google says “remember this day” and it brings back that warm, fuzzy feeling of nostalgia. God tells us these things because he wants us to remember who he is. He wants us to remember, to glorify him and to give him thanks, but also to pass on to the next generation what God has done in our lives, so that they may find renewed hope in him for themselves as well. It helps to fill our hearts with gratitude and to encourage us and to build our faith in God because we remember how good he was and how good he is, how steadfast he is and how faithful he is. It takes our eyes off the situation that we may be in at the moment. Maybe it just reminds us to fix our eyes on him, the author and the finisher of our faith, the God who can do all things. It just shows his love, his steadfast love, his goodness and faithfulness in the times when we needed him. And by doing so, we remember that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And so if he was for us then, he will be there for us now. And Moses in Deuteronomy 4:39 says,
So remember this and keep it firmly in mind the Lord is God both in heaven and on earth and there is no other.
Deuteronomy 4:39
So I just pray that God will help us. to remember his wonderful ways, help us to remember that he is always near, that he is faithful. And just to bring to mind the times that he’s answered prayer, help us to grow in Christ, learning more and more to trust and lean into him. Because if God is for us, which he is, and if God is there, then who can be against us? We can take that assurance, that encouragement into our day-to-day lives, that God just isn’t a distant memory, that God is alive today. And God is bringing to remembrance those things that he has done in the past, because he is the God of the past, of the present and of the future.
Every week one of our members shares a short thought aiming to inspire you for the week. You can watch previous Thought For The Week videos by clicking here.