Remember and See
Remembering is meant to renew a right spirit and remind us of our covenant relationship with God.
“Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey in a food offering presented to the Lord."
Leviticus 2:11-13
Why was the grain offering to be made without yeast? It was done exactly the way it had been done when the people made bread after fleeing Egypt. The offering was made so the people would remember God's faithfulness in freeing them from slavery. How does thinking about what God did in the past help us as we look forward to tomorrow?
Think of your Top Ramen days. The days in your life where you had very little. When all you could afford was Top Ramen. This offering was a reminder that was meant to bring the people back to a right perspective. Looking back helps us move forward.
Odds are there is something on your mind that is unsettled. Something in the future that you do not know how it will all work out. How could you build patterns into your life that would help you remember how God provided for you in the past so that you can be freed of the fears of how things will work out tomorrow?
“It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done.”
Psalms 92:1-2, 4
David was no stranger to danger and difficulty. He had to learn strategies for how to deal with the times that he was worried or anxious. We can learn from him how we can change how we approach each day. What did David do?
He practiced worship over worry and made time throughout the day to remember how God had worked for him in the past. How much time do you spend worshipping each day? How often do you count your blessings? Do you spend more time thinking about what you do not have or what God has done?
“Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake...No one knows what is coming— who can tell someone else what will happen after them?"
Ecclesiastes 10:8, 14, 18
Wisdom gives us two cautions. Remember that each choice has a consequence, and you do not know what's going to happen tomorrow. Where do these two tend to impact our lives? In the areas of offense and overwhelming hurt.
Is it not the way we react to situations of offense where forgiveness is needed but where we want to fight back that we most often dig a pit that we fall into later? Solomon says to remember how the choices you made in those moments led to more pain. Don't repeat the cycle that only leads to more pain.
The other piece of advice is deeper. We do not know what will come and that causes us to worry. How often do we live life like it will go on forever for ourselves and others? Then something happens. We lose something or someone. Loss has a way of bringing clarity of what really matters. Wisdom says to remember how God carried you through those times and where you should put your trust as you move forward. Only God knows what will come, so should we not turn to Him?
“Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you"
Jeremiah 26:11, 13, 19
God is slow to anger and quick to compassion. He desires that we would remember His faithfulness and reform our ways. Jesus and His disciples preached the kingdom is here, there is good news, repent or turn from your own ways towards God. Jeremiah reminds us of the promise that God is faithful and forgiving. What happens when we repent? We find love, peace, and healing.
“They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”...It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved”... All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all”
Acts 4:7, 10, 12, 19-20, 29-33
Remember and see. Remember the resurrection and see how death is not the end. Remember how the Romans crucified what they thought was just another Jewish man, only to see the resurrection revealed the Savior. Remember how He was the Savior then and see how He is the Savior now. Remember His power was present then and see His power is moves now.
Remember God so loved the world that He sent His One and Only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life and see that He did not come to condemn the world but to save it. Remembering all that Jesus had done helped the people live with one heart and mind. It helped free each heart to be generous and trust that if God could overcome the dead, then He could overcome whatever might come.
When we remember how at the hardest moments of our lives God made a way, we can see that walking by faith into the future is the only way to go. Our Top Ramen times where God carried us can produce a sense of gratitude, joy, peace, and freedom that opens the door for us to live the resurrected life like Jesus. What do you need to remember about what God has done so that you can see with the right perspective and by faith renew your covenant with Christ?