Remembering God
Life is unfair, Life is hard, and Life is challenging. At the same time satan works to discourage us, defeat us, and destroy us.
What are we to do? REMEMBER GOD!
Ps 121 NIV
1 A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip — he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you — the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Emotion verses Faith
At times we don’t feel very spiritual, we can even feel all alone. At times like this our assurance is not based upon pleasant circumstances, it’s based upon our faith in our Lord and savior, Jesus the Christ.
At times like these, we need to remember how God takes care of us:
Remember God’s steadfast love
Remember God’s passion for you.
Remember God’s tender mercy
Remember God is the giver and the sustainer of all of life.
Remember God for who God is and was; what God did for us
Remember the Character of God
When David saw the worst life had to dish out for him, he could still remember the perfection and faithfulness of God:
“In You, O LORD, I put my trust; let me never be put to shame. Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; incline Your ear to me, and save me. Be my strong habitation, to which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress” (Psalm 71:1–3).
Whenever we face trials, we need to remember who God is. Sometimes we get so focused on our trials we forget to focus on Him.
Remember God with a Song of Thanksgiving
David writes, “I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me” (Psalm 13:6).
If you want to stay healthy as a Christian, you need to go back and remember what God has done for you in the past.
You need to polish the monuments to the great victories in your life. That’s among the wonderful reasons for keeping a journal. David consults the journal in his mind of his dealings with his Lord, and he realizes, “God has dealt bountifully with me.”
Remember God with praise
Praise, offered in the face of adversity, makes no sense by any worldly calculation.
When we begin to praise God, not in response to prosperity, but in defiance of misfortune, we align ourselves with God.
God inhabits the praises of his people.
Ps 22:3 KJV
3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
Paul and Silas praised God
We find ourselves in deserts or dungeons. Our friends would give us all kinds of advice, but the last thing they might counsel us to do would be to praise God.
When Job lay suffering with every earthly pleasure stripped away, his wife advised him to “curse God and die.” He still praised God.
Remember God with Song
David praised God.
Psalm 104:33: “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.”
In the midst of the lonely desert road, what are you to do? Praise God with every part of your body, mind, and spirit.
Praise God regardless of your personal circumstances, and your heart and mind will be renewed.
Your perspective will widen panoramically. And your attitude toward God will never be the same.
Remember how God has helped us in the past. God will lead us into the future.
Remember the Rainbow
Not only does God reassure Noah but God uses a sign to back up what he assured. That sign was the rainbow and it was to be a reminder, primarily to God, but also to Noah that what God promised was true. Whenever Noah looked at the rainbow he could remember God’s promise. No matter how bad things were the rainbow remained. Even if Noah forgot to look, God would look and he would remember.
We should remember God’s convent also.
Remember, God is still on His throne and rules the world
Remember, God can not lie.
If he has gone to the trouble of sending Jesus to save the world, and to the trouble of sending out ministers to preach the gospel, and to the trouble of convicting you of sin and begging you to come to him, and if he has forgiven your sins, rest assured that he is intensely interested in your continuing in the holy way.
WE TEND TO BE FORGETFUL WITHOUT REMINDERS:
A. No matter how many times God had delivered the Israelites from enemies, plagues, starvation and slavery, they were prone to forget. They turned to idolatry, to self-determination, and to immorality because they forgot God.
B. We may be prone to forget, too. What can make us forget God?
Prosperity can: Moses said, "When you have eaten your fill, praise the LORD your God for the good land He has given you. But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and laws." Deuteronomy 8:10, 11 (NLT).
Pride can: Nebuchadnezzar, who considering the great city of Babylon boasted, "Just look at this great city of Babylon! I, by my own mighty power, have built this beautiful city as my royal residence and as an expression of my royal splendor." Daniel 4:30 (NLT).
Popularity can: Paul wrote, "If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ’s servant." Galatians 1:10 (NLT).
Personal will can: God said to Jeremiah, "But My people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned against Me and have chosen to practice idolatry." Jeremiah 5:23 (NLT).
Paganism that is Idolatry can: Whatever looms larger than God in our desires, attention, affection and devotion is an idol. Paul wrote, "So, my dear friends flee from the worship of idols." 1 Corinthians 10:14 (NLT).
Why we really need to remember God
1. People forgot His works and His providence so they forgot God.
• God wanted the Israelites to remember him because he knew the power that memory has upon human behavior. Moses explained this quite clearly:
• Be careful not to forget the Lord, your God, by neglecting his commandments . . . lest, when you have eaten your fill, and have built fine houses and lived in them, and have increased your herds and flocks, your silver and gold, and all your property, you then become haughty of heart and unmindful of the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.(Deuteronomy 8:11-14)
2. God has made man in His image.
3. Most only remember God only in times of crisis.
• He deserves our praise.
4. Remembering God builds our faith
5. Remember God chases the blues away
• A man was released from a POW camp and when he got home, he was asked, "How did you come through your ordeal and keep up your hope?" He said, "They could take away my food, and my freedom; they could beat me and they could torture me. But they could not make me forget God and all He has done for me. Remembering God kept me sane."
6. Remembering God enables to face uncertain times
• A little girl had to have major surgery. As she was being prepared, the nurse noted how calm and happy she was. She asked the little girl, "Are you afraid of this surgery?"
The little girl smiled and said, "Oh, no. My Daddy told me not to be afraid. He told me about Jesus and that He would be there with me, didn’t you Daddy?" and then to the nurse, "Are you afraid?" The nurse smiled and said, "No, sweetie, Jesus will be there with me, too."
Her father had been faithful in passing on remembrance of God to his child and she passed it on to the nurse.
7. Remember God for protection
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. (Psalm 34:7)
8. "We need to remember God with every breath” Because you don’t know which breathe is your last one.
9. Remember God When the voices of discouragement and fear shout louder than the still small voice of faith?
Conclusion
When you Remember God, Remember God gives you…
Enough Happiness to keep you Sweet
Enough Trials to keep you Strong
Enough Sorrows to keep you Human
Enough Hope to keep you Happy
Enough Failure to keep you Humble
Enough Success to keep you Eager
Enough Friends to give you Comfort
Enough Wealth to meet your Needs
Enough Enthusiasm to make you look forward
Enough Faith to banish depression, and
Enough Determination to make each day a better day than
the last
God enables us to live life forward, while understanding comes from looking back and see God’s blessings, and intervention
Remember God all the rest of the days of your life. As you do, you will receive more love and more power and have more of Him in your life.
If you let Him have your life, He will be so active in it, and so powerful in it, that you will have daily reminders of Him, His power, His grace and His works.
