REMEMBER
The Israelites grew up knowing they were supposed to
remember and recite the great miracles God did for their ancestors and
families. They were supposed to tell their children stories to keep God’s love,
miracles, and majesty in their hearts and minds and pass it on to future
generations.
Recalling the goodness of God was to be an antidote for
depression, rebellion, and fearful thinking so that when enemies would come at
them, they would have the correct mental weapons ready. And they would know
that God would continue caring for them in hard times.
But the Israelites didn’t do what God wanted. Psalm 78:
10-11 tells us: “They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in
His law and forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them.”
After Jesus came to earth, God “called, not of the
Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. As He also says in Hosea: ‘I will call
them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved’”
(Rom. 9:24-25).
Even though God no longer requires us to be under the
Mosaic law, Paul tells us in Romans 15:4: “Whatever things were written before
were written for our learning, that we through the patience and
comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”
The Old Testament edicts are for our learning. I’ve found
that remembering what God has done for us in the past works the same way God
intended it to work in Old Testament times: to give us the mental and emotional
weapons we need when life’s circumstances challenge us.
Reading Psalm 78 this week, I saw that God’s people were
far from steadfast. Instead, they kept flipping back and forth from following
God’s will.
When many died, “they sought Him; And they returned and
sought earnestly for God. Then they remembered
that God was their rock, and the Most High God their
Redeemer” (Ps. 78:34-35). But their memory was short-lived!
“Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,
and they lied to Him with their tongue; for their heart was not steadfast with
Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant” (vv. 36-37).
“But He, being full of compassion,
forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them” (v. 38).
“How often they provoked Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the
desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of
Israel” (vv. 40-41).
“They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy”
(v. 42).
After reading this, I figured it would be a good time for
me to reflect on my own life to see a few miraculous things the Lord did to
rescue me in the past. I don’t want to become insensitive to His power and
blessing in my current life, like the Israelites in Psalm 78!
I remember when I was about 19, I felt like no one loved
me. I had even failed at trying to commit suicide. I was alone and despondent
and didn’t know how to improve things. My best offer came from a “friend,” and
we would go to LA to become prostitutes. God rescued me just in time when my
dad’s San Francisco office suddenly closed, and my parents asked me if I wanted
to go with them to Chicago. I went. But things didn’t get much better.
I met a guy who I really liked and we went out a few
times. Then he said he wanted me to meet him late one night at the pool parking
lot where I worked as a lifeguard. I was ready to go, but something didn’t feel
right, so I didn’t go. The next day when I showed up at the pool, the head
lifeguard told me the guy showed up at about 11 p.m. to do a drug deal. He had
a handgun and was really angry that I didn’t come. He had all his stuff in the
back of the car and took off cross country. My lifeguard boss said the guy was
planning to take me with him! God saved me from being abducted by that guy! His
mercy and compassion for me prevailed. Jane used to tell me I kept my angels
very busy back then, and she was right.
When I think back to those years between 18 and 22, I can
tell you so many stories of how the Lord saved me from numerous awful
situations. I felt like I was acting like those Israelites in Psalm 78, always
carrying my Bible around but absolutely void of any Godly wisdom!
Finally, God rescued me for good. In Matthew 3:11, John
the Baptist says: “He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am
not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost,
and with fire.” That’s what happened to me. Jesus Christ baptized me
with his Holy Spirit and fire. The fire burned out my old life and gave me
power and wisdom, and I never went back.
“I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto
me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the
miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings”
(Ps. 40:2).
That’s part of my story in a nutshell, and remembering it
gives me great calm and uplifting. If you ever get discouraged or sad, just
take a look at what God’s already done for you. 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord
is not slack concerning his promise.”
If we remember what the Lord’s done for us before; we
know that He can do it again and way more!
And if we don’t have children around to read Bible
stories to, how about if we become like children and read a story or two out loud
to ourselves? “Receive the kingdom of God as a little child” (Luke 18:17). Thayer’s
Greek Lexicon defines the word “kingdom” as “blessings and benefits” of the
kingdom, God’s way of doing things. We can receive them with the welcoming delight
of a little child.
Love, Carolyn
My first volume of WINGS: A Journey in Faith is
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Get your copy – These true stories from my life will give you new insight into
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