“gratitude Remembers”

So...why are you here? Most of you know that is one of my favorite questions to ask. I believe it helps us to remember the reasons why we are supposed to be here even if sometimes that may not be the case. But have you ever asked yourself that question before; not as a deep theological introspection but maybe you have gone into a room from another room in your house and then forgot why you went in there? And you asked yourself, "Why am I in here?"

I read an article in Psychology Today (because I have that kind of time evidently) that said that situation is more common than you might expect and that there is a reason for it that you might not have ever thought of. Dr. Ira E. Hyman says, "I have some good news for you. It isn't you and it isn't evidence of age-related declines. It's the doorway. Walking through doorways empties your mind. Doorways really cause forgetting."

He goes on to describe how that happens; something about how our minds construct models of our environments and when we walk into a new room the mind drops the old model and makes a new one and many times the reason we went into that room is dropped as well. I'll just take his word for it and since this happens to me fairly often, I'm glad to know there is a reason for it.

And maybe that is one reason why the Bible tells us to remember things so many times. God knows that we are going to read it or hear it in our homes or in our church and then leave and we will forget what we are supposed to remember. The 10 Commandments tell us to, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." In Deuteronomy 7 it says to remember what the Lord did. Even God is said to remember things. In Genesis 9, God says that when He sees the rainbow in the clouds that He will remember His covenant.

Now, my favorite verse in the whole Bible says to "forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past." (Isaiah 43:18) It means that we are to forget the bad things in our lives and to concentrate on the good things that God is going to do. In fact, I would suggest that we forget everything that we have done in the past whether good or bad and concentrate on what God has done and is going to do even if it may be painful because everything God does is good. Do you believe that?

That's what the Bible says so I hope you do. 3 times just in the book of Psalms it says that. Psalm 25, 73 and 86: Good and upright is the Lord, truly God is good and for you Lord, are good. Plus there are many more places where it reminds us that God is good and that is what we are supposed to remember.

That is what David is telling us to do in our passage this morning in Psalm 105. Remember the good things God has done and the ways that He has protected and provided in the face of evil and when the entire world seems against you. When you remember those times, you can't help but be grateful. Let's read that passage again from Psalm 105:1-5 but our focus will be on just verse 5.

Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 2 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 4 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. 5 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

I read a funny story the other day written by a guy who said that when he was a kid his parents would take the kids to the same vacation spot every summer somewhere up in the mountains by a lake. And every year they would get a few miles out of town and his mother would cry out, "Oh, dear, I think I left the iron on."

So they would turn around and go back and it never failed, the iron would be off and unplugged. So one year they were on their way and sure enough, the mom says it. "Oh dear, I think I left the iron on." He said his dad didn't say a word. He just pulled over, popped the trunk and handed his mom the iron.

David, the author of this psalm, would appreciate that because the word he uses for "remember" here means to show that you remember; to do something that proves you remember just like the father did in the story. And David tells us to remember 3 things; remember the wonders He has done and His miracles and His judgments.