Mom Heart Moments #73

Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.

THANKSGIVING IS INTIMATELY TIED to remembering. If you can’t remember what someone has done for you, how can you be thankful? The Bible uses various forms of the word remember more than 150 times, and very often the idea of remembering is tied to thanking God. The Psalms in particular make this frequent connection. Over and over the psalmist encourages the Israelites to remember God’s covenant to them and to remember what He has done for them, so that they might know His faithfulness and in turn live faithfully according to His covenant.

Take, for instance, Psalm 66. The psalmist calls the people to “shout joyful praises to God” (NLT), then engages in a jubilant recollection of what God has done for the house of Israel —delivering them from Egypt through the Red Sea, testing and purifying them, giving them leaders, bringing them “through fire and flood” to “a place of great abundance.”

Why all the reminders?

Because, quite simply, people forget. And when they forget or don’t notice, they tend to whine or complain.

The Israelites forgot again and again about God’s faithfulness and His plans for them, and they complained a lot. We all do. So many times in my life I have seen God work, felt His presence, heard Him speak directly to the desires of my heart. And then, only a few days later, I have found myself pouring out my exasperated heart, feeling like my prayers are hitting the ceiling, wondering if there is a God in the universe.

When it comes to God’s work in our lives, we fall so easily into spiritual amnesia. This is why, from time to time, we need to stop the busyness in our lives and remember. Even better, we need to create reminders of God’s faithfulness.

Take a few moments today to remind yourself of God’s faithfulness throughout your own life. Consider writing a list of all the times you can think of!