Wednesday, July 24, 2013

God's fantastic memory

The Word for today:
Nehemiah 5
One of the dearest prayers in the Bible is before us today:
Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people. (Nehemiah 5:19)
Remember me, my God, for good.
God's memory works differently than ours. More on that in just a bit. But first, let's look not at God's memory, but at his "forgetter."
God so thoroughly forgives that he forgets! Sins forgiven through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ are not just forgiven, they are dropped into the middle of the deep blue sea:
He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19)
That's God's great "forgetter." But what about his "rememberer?"
Our memories recall things. But when God remembers, it's not just mental activity; it's redemptive activity.
One of the delightful verses in scripture is Genesis 8:1--
But God remembered Noah...
This verse is very instructive, because it points out what it means to be remembered by God. If I were to suddenly remember something, it means that something had previously slipped my mind. But God never forgot about Noah in the first place!
Whenever God remembers us, he sends something good our way:
• Genesis 9:16: "Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."
• Genesis 30:22: "Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb."
As soon as God remembered Noah, the floodwaters started to subside. As soon as God remembered the rainbow, he blessed the earth. As soon as God remembered Rachel, she became pregnant. As soon as God remembered his people in slavery, he started their journey of redemption:
"God heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So God looked on them and was concerned about them." (Exodus 2:24–25)
Whenever the Bible says God remembers, it means God will act for someone according to his covenant (commitment) promises, pouring undeserved goodness on his people.
So I hope we pray the prayer that Nehemiah prayed. I hope we pray it every day:
Remember me, my God, for good.
What a fantastic memory He has!
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