Food for weekend thought...on our thoughts
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his book, Life Together: "Why is it that my thoughts wander so quickly from God's word, and that in my. hour of need the needed word is often not there? Do I forget to eat and drink and sleep? Then why do I forget God's word? Because I still can't say what the psalmist says: 'I will delight in Your statutes' (Ps.11916). I don't forget the things in which I take delight. Forgetting or not forgetting is a matter not of the mind but of the whole person, of the heart. I never forget what body and soul and depend upon. The more I begin to love the commandments of God in creation and word, the more present they will be for me in every hour. Only love protects against forgetting.
Because God's word has spoken to us in history and thus in the past, the remembrance and repetition of what we have learned is a necessary daily exercise. Every day we must turn again to God's acts of salvation, so that we can again move forward...Faith and obedience live on remembrance and repetition. Remembrance becomes the power of the present because of the living God who once acted for me and who reminds me of that today."
Remembering is critical to our faith. Remembering Who God is and what He has done. Remembering His mighty works and His unbreakable promises in His Word. Remembering His myriad and inexhaustible daily kindnesses--big and small--in our lives. Remembering our unyielding, relentless chains of sin...and then remembering that because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, our chains are gone. Remembering that because Jesus was forsaken on that cross, we will never ever be forsaken. Remembering His Holy Spirit is with us every moment of every day and every night, and He is continually guiding, encouraging, strengthening, convicting, reminding, empowering. Remembering His priceless gift of fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, both family and friends. Remembering His supernatural and beautiful gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Gal.5:22-23)
Remembering fills our hearts, feeds our gratitude, and fuels our faith. No wonder Scripture repeatedly warns against forgetting and exhorts us to remember.
Yet, isn't it remarkable how prone we can be to, as Paul David Tripp puts it, spiritual amnesia? Let's face it--we can all be foolish, weak, "what-have-You-done-for-me-lately" spiritual amnesiacs! One minute we're rejoicing in the wonderful things God has done, and the next moment, when a sudden squall hits us, we completely forget Who is with us, what He has done, what He's promised, and what He can do!
So what's the antidote? Choosing intentionally, continually to remember. We have to, as one of my favorite passages puts it, call it to mind. "Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's faithful love, we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say, 'The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him." (Lam.3:21-24).
Yes, we choose to "call it to mind." And we do it daily. Jeremiah, the writer of Lamenations, says that God's mercies and faithful love are "new every morning"--meaning he rediscovers and savors this daily when He reminds himself of Who God is, what He is like, what He has done. Remembering, therefore, is a daily necessary and life-giving exercise.
And remembering requires something quite simple yet critically important: reading. Open up God's Word and read what He has for you, specifically for you, each day. Read and remember. Don't let a day pass without listening to the Lord of the universe as He speaks to you in His Word--helping you, encouraging you, convicting you, equipping you. And while you're at it, take a few minutes each day to remember and record the ways you have seen God move--in His Word and in your life. The act of writing it down helps us remember, and I know I surely need all the help I can get! Finally, take the time to remember and rejoice. Rejoice in His greatness and His goodness. Rejoice in the gift of His Word. Rejoice in the joy of salvation. Rejoice in the refreshing winter air and the ability to sip that hot tea or savor that chocolate cake. Rejoice in the blessing of friends, family, church.
This week, will you intentionally and daily choose to remember? Remember by reading His Word. Remember by recording His work in your life. And remember by rejoicing in all His manifold gifts.
To God--the glorious Giver of all good gift--be all the glory.
