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!