Remembering the Lord

Have you ever been puzzled by trials? Discouraged by unanswered prayer? Wondered if God is still interested in your problems? Asked God “are you still there?

If so, you are not unlike the author of Psalm 77. Many of the Psalms were written by King David, but this one is thought to be written by a man named Asaph. The Bible does not tell us what Asaph, was going through, but there is no doubt that he was in great distress. He did not understand why God was not responding to his prayers. He wrote in verses 7- 9

“Will the Lord cast off forever? And will he be favourable no more?
Is His mercy clean gone forever? Doth His promise fail for evermore?
Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?”

After years of waiting with my son and daughter-in-law through years of the anguish of infertility and multiple miscarriages, I rejoiced that our prayers were being answered. They were chosen to become parents of a baby boy through adoption! The sadness in their eyes faded, replaced with hope. I thanked God that their heartbreak would soon end. They bought a white crib and painted the nursery green. A few days before the baby was to be born, we learned that the adoption would not take place. A mother suffers for herself and for her child. I didn’t understand. Wasn’t this child the answer to years of prayer? What happened, God? “Oh, God, where are you?”

I thought, like the psalmist, “Will the Lord cast off forever? And will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone forever? And doth his promise fail forevermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies.” I could not remember how to pray. I wondered if I knew anything at all about God. I asked, “Will I ever feel joy again?”

As I grieved, the Holy Spirit reminded me of Psalm 77. I certainly understood the writer asking if God had forgotten to be gracious! But as I read verse 10, he seemed to gain new strength, declaring “BUT I WILL REMEMBER the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.”

What did the psalmist REMEMBER about God?
The word “remember” is used often in the Bible. Sometimes I complain that I am losing my memory because I lose keys or forget names, but in the Bible the word “remember” means much more than that. It means to recall, to think on, and to meditate on. Remembering was a part of worship. People in the Old Testament often built memorials to help them remember, as Joshua set up twelve memorial stones by the Jordan River to remind the people that God had kept his promise and brought them into the Promised Land. (Joshua 4:7)

If you know me, you remember certain things about me. My name. Am I quiet? Friendly? If you got to know me better, you might begin to observe my character. Am I honest? Am I kind? Am I loyal? Can you depend on me? What is my personality? If I have written you letters, you know what I have said about myself. What would this writer of Psalms know about God to remember? Well, God chose to reveal Himself to and through the descendants of Abraham, the Israelite people. He brought them out of slavery in Egypt, gave them the law through Moses and brought them into the Promised Land. Through these events and the written accounts of them, God revealed Himself. He told them His many names. In Bible times, a name was more than a name—it represented the person’s character. It told you something about that person.

The psalmist, the writer of Psalm 77, would remember:
God’s Word: what God said about Himself through the law and the prophets
God’s character: what God is like: his faithfulness, His love, His mercy…
God’s name: He is Jehovah, the one true God, the majestic and all powerful God
God’s ways: Every story in the Bible teaches us about how God acts

In fact, when this psalmist decided to “Remember the Lord”, he could not help but worship Him! In verse 13, as he remembers the Lord, he declares “who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.” He went on to remember how God parted the Red Sea, drowning the Egyptians and delivering God’s people from slavery.

What did I remember in my own grief over a grandchild that would not be? I remembered that God’s Word tells me that He loves my son even more than I do. I remembered that God has always been faithful, not only to those in the Bible but to me personally. I remembered that God is good and all powerful. I remembered that I can trust Jehovah, the majestic and all powerful God. And when I remembered, I worshipped!

I am thankful that when I decide to “remember the Lord” I don’t have to rely on my own memory. Yes, I study the Bible and feed my mind and spirit, but it is the Holy Spirit who brings things to my remembrance. Before Jesus went to heaven, He promised in John 14:26 that the Holy Spirit will “teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you.”

When trials pound you. When pain floods over you. When grief threatens to drown you. When doubt tries to overtake you, REMEMBER THE LORD! Remember: His Word, His character, His name, His ways.

P.S. Less than a year later, my son and his wife did become parents of another baby boy through adoption—the baby boy that God had chosen for them. Their mourning was replaced with joy. I will now remember God’s faithfulness to me in this answered prayer.

Two-way Communication

Sometimes I cringe when I see caller ID. Yes, I love my friend, but sometimes I brace myself for what's coming.

"How are you?"

"Fine," I say hesitantly, "How are you?" Oh, did I REALLY ask that?

The barrage of words, complaints, "prayer request" begins.

After we finally hang up, probably because she arrived at work and has successfully passed the half-hour drive, I realize that she was not interested in anything in my life. I ask, "what kind of friendship is that?" "What do we really have in common?"

Then I think of my relationship with God. Do I really care about His desires and purposes? Is my time with Him a barrage of words, complaints, and prayer requests? Did I stop to listen? Was it a two-way conversation? Do I say to Him with my self-focused prayers and overly busy schedule: "Lord, I'm not interested in You."

Even so, I don't think God cringes when he sees my name on "Caller ID". He patiently listens and finds His own ways to interrupt me and teach me, just like today when he showed me how my friendship with Him is often like the one I have just complained to Him about!

Happy 4th of July

I've never been excited about the 4th of July. I only thought of picnics and fireworks,and it's always been too hot to enjoy them! This year I am excited. Our church offered an inspiring service -- the best in patriotic songs, testimonies from 4 members who had immigrated, and a time of serious prayer for our country to turn back to God. The immigrants told what being in America means to them. I was humbled and convicted by their words. I don't always remember to appreciate the freedom we enjoy. It's all I've known.

Then, I saw Jennifer's blog post with this picture. She said it it is always a joy to take Wesleigh to church. She talked about the church they visited in China--one that Wesleigh would never be allowed to attend had she stayed there. Tourists and visitors could attend but not Chinese citizens. How I appreciate that she is here with us to enjoy our freedoms!

We are closer to losing these freedoms than at any time in the 234 years of our history. Lord, remind us to pray for ALL in authority so that we may lead peaceful and quiet lives! I don't want to let Wesleigh down! She may not know now that she came here for freedom and because of freedom, but some day she will.

An inspiring testimony

Eric has shared his testimony with me several times, but I will copy Eric's testimony as he told it to Max Davis in his book Desperate Dependence so that I will remember all of the details. "Growing up,I naturally adopted my parents' beliefs," Eric said. "Their argument against God made sense to me. 'How could there be a good God with all the evil in the world?' And that's the attitude I picked up." All through high school and college if people said they were Christian, Eric had a good time sparring with them. He would throw at them the same questions his parents used. In addition to the pain and suffering argument, he would ask them, "How can you say Christianity is true? What about Islam? What about the Indian gods? What about Buddhism? Are you saying that they are all wrong?" Eric enjoyed arguing. It was fun trying to convince someone that his faith was foolish. While he was in his sophomore year of college, Eric began to develop a hunger for truth. He sensed something out there was called truth. He had no idea what it was. It still had nothing to do with God at the time. But he wanted to know what truth was. Eric spent some time considering it and came to the conclusion that "goodness" was truth. If you were a good person then you were living in the truth. That lasted for a while, then it evolved into something more. He sensed that there was something deeper than "goodness." Then he came to the conclusion that "love" was truth. So he said he wanted to try to love people. Mind you, everything was still very atheistic. God was still not even a consideration. At the time, Eric had no idea that it was a God who was drawing him to Himself. So he continued for a while to believe that ""love" was truth. Yet he still hungered to make sure that he was living in truth and he still sensed deeply that he was missing something. At this time, Eric had a friend whose girlfriend was a Christian. She asked him, "Eric, do you believe in God?" Eric responded, "No, but I'll think about it." After that, he didn't see her again but the question sparked a desire in Eric to know if there really was a God. If that was the truth, he wanted to know. He was going to college in upstate New York in a quaint little town and would take long walks. While walking he would ponder these questions. One night, he said, "God if You are there, I want to know." If He wasn't there, that was okay by Eric. His life was fine. This was not a crisis. In fact, it was probably one of the happiest times of his life. Nevertheless, Eric said, "God, if You are there, show me." On another night, he had gone to a party and met his roommate from the previous year. Eric really looked forward to seeing him, but his former roommate was as cold as ice to him, and Eric couldn't understand it. This really hurt him, and he walked home that night, dejected. saying to himself, "There is no God. It is true. There is just too much evil and sadness in the world for God to be real. That's it, my search is over." But then something rose up inside of him and he cried out, "God if You are really there, then show me now!" Instantly and surprisingly, there was an unexpected tingling in Eric's head, and it felt as if his brain were going to explode into a hundred pieces. Then, out of his gut--that's the only way he could describe it--came the words JESUS! GOD! At that moment, God revealed Himself to Eric. Eric says, "I had no bias or preconceived notions. If it had been Buddha or Allah, it would have been fine with me. Jesus as God was a complete surprise. I had no previous knowledge that the Bible referred to Jesus as God. My Bible knowledge was nil." From that point on, Eric knew that Jesus was real--there was no doubt about it. Since then he had never doubted the the existence of God. Eric said that he believes that you must have a personal encounter with God to truly believe. This was more than thirty years ago, and Eric is still a committed Christian man. How encouraging to know that our God desires to reveal Himself to any man who is willing to learn the truth!

New Every Morning

Today I saw a six-week-old baby smile. You would think that I had never seen a baby smile before! Maybe that would make some people call me naïve (or should I say “dense”), saying “she wakes up in a new world every morning.” I suspect that my own three children’s first smiles astonished me some thirty+ years ago even though I had read Dr. Spock and every other baby book I could get my hands on, but, when my first grandchild Bryce smiled at me fourteen years ago, I was stunned! “How do they learn to smile so early?” I asked Jennifer. “I just can’t believe they smile at this age!” “How can that be?” Incredulously, Braden did the same just about exactly two years later.
I love surprises. And, you know, I never saw it coming with any of the six grandchildren who followed. “Amazing! How do they smile so early? How do they learn that?” The baby’s smile reminded me that, even at my age, every day is still fresh and new.

“This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.
The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease.
For His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning.
Great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:23

Imagine a God who created a brain capable of responding to the love in a mother’s face and rewarding weeks of sleepless nights with a smile! Only a joyful God would think to create such an extravagant gift as a smile! As we say in Louisiana,“lagniappe", a little something extra. Yes, every day is indeed a new day. I never want to lose the wonder of waking up knowing that on “this” day God’s lovingkindnesses invite me to be a little “naïve” – yes, even childlike -- and expect to be surprised, even stunned, by all He has planned for me!

A Reminder

Sometimes we just need a reminder of truth. Sometimes we need a little, or a lot, of comfort.

I decided that I need to re-read Romans. I tend to get into devotional books and other things and not just sit down to read the Bible. I've even fallen a bit into what the whole busy, distracted, electronic-connected culture has (even me-always a reader) into not believing that I have the attention span to just sit down and read the Word. Not true!

This is comforting to me right now:
Romans 8:35-39

"Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword?
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Back to verse 31: "What then can we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?"

Bryce Loves to "Dribe"

Bryce has always loved to drive! Now that we have three acres, Bryce's love for driving has been put to good use. PawPaw needed help to get the yard ready for an Easter crawfish boil, so he put Bryce to work.



I don't remember what Bryce's first word was, but one of his first sounds was "n-n-n-n-n" with a little car in his hand. Here he is in 1998 on his roads rug. He would ask us repeatedly to "pay roads". He would say, "I want to dribe." If he wasn't seeing enough action from our assigned hot wheels, he would prod us to action, saying "Dribe!"



I always knew Bryce would teach the younger grandkids to "dribe." He even tried with Madelyn without much success. Here the oldest grandchild (with the help of his brothers) teaches the youngest to "play roads."



And look who wants to follow in the his footsteps! Rylan! He has a few boy cousins in line before him, but by the time he is 11 like Bryce, PawPaw may really need his help!