Four precious girls from Broughton high school were in a wreck on August 24, and praise God none of them were killed. Our daughter suffered a traumatic brain injury while her dear friend, Tessa, was badly hurt with multiple broken bones. Janie was unconscious and in a coma, and for two long weeks, she was utterly unresponsive and unable to be awakened by anyone or anything.
I've shared about all this earlier on the blog, so I won't go into it. But as I sat in church today, I was reminded afresh of why we have to recall the great things God has done. Why we have to remember who our Lord is and rehearse what He has done.
The psalmist in Psalm 77 expresses it so beautifully. The writer is in a desperate, dark place, but by an act of the will, he tells himself to think back on his mighty God and recall what great things his God has done:
"In the day of my trouble, I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted...I said, 'Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart. Then my spirit made a diligent search; Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?...Then I said, 'I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.' I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your holy deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known your might among the peoples." (Ps.77:2,6-7,10-14) Oh my, that's some an awfully stuff!
The psalmist is exhorting himself--and us--to remember and rehearse who God is and what He has done. Remember His goodness, His grace, His forgiveness, His power, His love. Remember how He saved us. Remember how our sins enslaved us, rendering us helpless and hopeless. We need to remember our chains...and then, because of our mighty and glorious Savior, we need to remember our chains are gone.
Remember how we were just as powerless and unable to free ourselves as our daughter was when she was unconscious and on that ventilator. Not her nurses, not her doctors, not her parents, not her siblings, not her friends, no one and nothing could save and awaken our daughter. Only God could do that.
Only God.
Only God could come to this earth and live the perfect sinless life we could not live.
Only God could go to the cross, bearing not His sins but ours.
Only God could suffer the punishment that our sins demanded.
Only God could die the death that we deserved.
Only God could take our sins and in exchange give us Jesus' perfect righteousness.
Only God could rise from the dead and thereby give us His new resurrection life.
Only God could take our old dead bones and make them dance with glorious life...replace our sorrow with rejoicing...exchange our hopelessness with purpose and joy. Because Jesus didn't come to make bad people good, but to make dead people alive.
And only God could--one happy, happy day--awaken our daughter out of her coma and restore her back to life. Bring her back to us--laughing, talking, singing, walking, living, and worshipping. To us, it literally felt like our God had brought her from death back to life.
But we have to remember. We don't want to forget that dark and desperate time. We don't want to forget how the Lord's presence truly sustained us day after day, giving us His hope and strength. We don't want to forget His priceless gift of friends and family all during that time. We don't want to forget how God gave us wonderful doctors and nurses and therapists. We don't want to forget God's amazing grace, His goodness, His love, His power--all when we had none of our own. And we don't ever want to forget how our mighty Lord restored Janie back to life. Because that's what He does...as it's been said, "God works best in a graveyard." In the graveyards of despair or disease or divorce or defeat or desperation. We all have them...but our God is greater. Greater even than death. Greater even than whatever darkness you might be enduring right now.
So today, right now, please choose to remember. Remember who your glorious God is--the Maker of heaven and earth. The Alpha and Omega. The tender Good Shepherd. The powerful Lion of Judah. The Savior, Redeemer and Friend. Read His Word and recount out loud who He is and what He has done. And remember what He has done in your life. The countless times He encouraged you when you were in a pit...or sustained you in a time of deep need...or brought a friend along at just the right time...or rescued you from terrible peril...or saved you from sins. Oh glorious, amazing grace that saved a wretch like me, and you.
Only God could do that--and will do that--all the way till He brings us to our glorious, eternal Home. But we have to choose to remember and recall so that we be reminded that He who is forever faithful, will do it again and again and again.
Remembering will fuel your faith in the only One who is worthy. And remembering will fill you with rejoicing.
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