The Power of Memory

Humans are such funny creatures. We say that we don’t want to live like our ancestors and that we want to live differently. Yet so often we forget about God, his promises, and his nature in the face of our challenging circumstances. The Israelites did this not once but many times over. In church we use them as an example, sometimes even laughing how easily they forgot that he parted the Red Sea, supplied water from a rock, bread from the morning dew, and so on.

The psalmist Asaph, laments for a bit at the beginning of this Psalm complaining about his circumstances. He recounts his tireless efforts of reaching out to God, his struggle, and wondering if God would ever show up again to help. Halfway through he states, “This is my infirmity…”

I had a season in my life that was a lot like this. It was though problems were all around me. They became bigger than God and my complaints were louder than his truth. It actually became an infirmity, a sickness, that took me down into the pit of despair wondering if God could or would show his favor to me again.

Have you ever felt like that? Or maybe know someone like that? Where the complaints, the negative talk, and hopelessness are sucking the life out of the room? It is the human nature that we repeat if we are not careful to remember. And I don’t mean remembering or dwelling on our past experience of failures or seasons of falling short, but rather remembering how God has carried us through.

It was 2020 and absurd events seemed to occur on a weekly basis. Everyone I spoke to viewed that the world was falling apart. Remember?? In our part of California we had extreme lockdowns, extreme measures in social distancing/masking, wait lines to purchase provisions, fires that wiped out much of our amazing mountain community and created hazardous air conditions for weeks. People were evacuated from communities but forced indoors wherever possible. On top of this, employers were forcing vaccinations, mandatory testing, and quarantines based on exposure to anyone with the virus. The spirit of fear was everywhere I turned.

It finally took a toll on me and began to unravel me a bit. Was I going to lose my job? What kind of decisions would I be forced to make for me, my family, my faith? It felt as if there was no escape from the political and civil unrest, and my focus went to circumstances. The physical realm became the only tangible reality for a short time. I had to get away and reset!

I took my children and packed up, despite the unknown, to head into the Sierras for a few days. We didn’t know how we would be received as travelers in a time when it was being frowned upon and criticized. It didn’t matter much, the stores in the mountains invited us to shop for the few items we needed and once we found our secluded hideaway there was nothing but us and God’s creation. Wow, nothing like it!!

In that place, God revealed this Psalm to me. When I read that line, “I will remember…” I realized I wasn’t remembering. I was not recalling. You see after Asaph states his infirmity he begins to recall and remember the Lord, his deeds, his might, his miracles and the tone of the rest of the Psalm changes. I needed to do the same. I first began by recalling all that the Lord did throughout the Bible. Afterward, I journaled and reminded myself of all that he had done for me and my family. In every place of my life that I surrendered to him he was able to make a way, never failing once.

I gave him my job; he took me into a new job (multiple times) that gave me fulfilled sense of purpose with less hours and more pay.

I gave him my house; he brought my family to a larger home, with a yard, an extra bedroom, and an ocean view!! And made it work financially to afford!

I gave him my wife; he took our marriage to a new level of healing and trust. We took steps of faith together, repaired hurts, communicated better, and began knowing God as husband and wife.

I gave him my children; he brought them each on their own accord to want a personal relationship with him, to be baptized by me, to read their own bibles, and make relationships with peers their own age in order to have a stronger community.

I could go on about miracles, healings, signs, and wonders that the Lord God Almighty had done on one occasion after another. What was I worried about? Why was I focused on fear? He had brought me to this point and he always follows through with his part.

I started to remember. You know what that did? It built my faith in him. I came home from that trip refreshed and ready to face every problem (and there were many of them that year of 2020 and 2021)!! That following season of life God led us through the chaos the world tried to distract us with. We created our own school, built rock solid relationships together, began a 501(c)3 non-profit, helped unite people at the True Love Christian Music and Art Festival, and so much more.

We didn’t up and run away, we didn’t turn back in fear, and God the solid rock (Psalm 18) through his great grace (Ephesians 1:5-8) took care of all things in mighty ways.

Remember- remember who He is and what He has done.