Since we live in time, a common activity for us as humans is remembering. Of course, remembering is bringing to mind an awareness of something that has happened in the past. This ability of recall is something God tells us to use to reinforce His presence. For example, “Remember! Do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness …” (Deuteronomy 9:7). In this instance, Moses was preparing the children of Israel to go into the land God was giving them. He was bringing past mistakes to mind so they would not be repeated.
Remembering can also be very motivational regarding something being done now. As Israel looked toward the new land, there was a certain fearfulness in regard to the inhabitants and their ability to subdue them. God reminded them of things He had done to bring them out of Egypt. “If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’ – you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:17-18).
We are in a similar position. God has brought us out of Egypt and is leading us toward the land He has promised – the Kingdom of God. As we look toward the Kingdom, we are surrounded by a great many obstacles that seem overwhelming. We see a hostile society where people who acknowledge God are being targeted. We see minds that are filled with anger toward anything or anybody who gets in the way of personal fulfillment. We see a pandemic that seemingly has no answers. This world appears so much greater than us. How can we dispossess it?
An answer is in remembering. God remembers, and we must remember.
We need to remember what God has done for us up to this point in our lives and what He has said He will do for us in the future. God says that He remembers His covenant with us. “then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember…” (Leviticus 26:42).
This covenant has a New Testament context for us. “And has raised up a horn of salvation for us [Christ] … to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant” (Luke 1:69-72). God will remember His covenant that He made with you at baptism. You are a central focus for God and His purpose at this time.
With personal remembrance comes the responsibility of taking appropriate action. By remembering God’s promises and taking spiritual action, we can be confident that God will be faithful to His covenant. “But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:26-27).
As we enter the final Holy Days of another year, it is a good time to be remembering. Remember God’s great plan of salvation, which will override all aspects of this world. Remember God’s covenant with you that allows participation in that plan. Remember everything God has done for you in your lifetime. “Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast …” (Revelation 3:3).
Brian Orchard
