Mind

Mind

For he issued his decree to Jacob; he gave his law to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—that they in turn might teach their children. So each generation can set its hope anew on God, remembering his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.

Psalm 78:5-7

When I picked up my thesaurus and flipped to the word mind, I was surprised to find three different noun entries. They fell into the categories of intelligence, memory, and belief. In today’s devotional, I’d like to focus on the memory aspect of our minds.

When we think of remembering, we often think of looking back to a special or difficult time, to a fact retained in our mind (like 2 + 2 = 4), or to treasured memories of a special person (such as a spouse or parent who might have died). Simply put, to remember is to recall. But here in Psalm 78, the word remember means much more than just recalling people, events, or ideas from the past. Tyndale’s Bible Dictionary describes it as “living in the present in the light of God’s past actions.” What a huge thought!

When we experience challenges and difficulties in the present, we can be strengthened to face them by seeing how God provided for people in the past. If God could make the waters of the Red Sea stand up like walls (Psalm 78:13), if he could split open rocks in the wilderness to gush with water (v. 15), and if he could rain down bread from the heavens (v. 24), then certainly he can take care of me.

These few verses remind us why we share God’s Word with our children—“so each generation can set its hope anew on God, remembering his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.” It’s no wonder that we read Bible stories of God’s power and provision to our children over and over and over again!

Father,

Thank you that memories of your power and provision to people in the past help us to set our hope in you now. Please help us to teach them to our children too. In the name of Jesus, amen.