I Remember…

“He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.

But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold. In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wilderness they put God to the test. So, he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease among them.”

Psalms 106:10, 13-15 NIV

Today is my son’s birthday and it also happens to be my wedding anniversary.  It helps me to remember those days, as they are on the same date.  Often, we find that we forget or have trouble remembering important things in our life.  For some of us we write dates and events down, so that we do not forget.  And so, in the same way we often forget what God has done for us.  Here in Psalms we see the psalmist recalling when the people of Israel had forgotten what God had done.  God had rescued them from the land of Egypt and had saved them from their enemy.  And yet he says, “they soon forgot”.  Oftentimes we also forget what God has done for us.  God had always been faithful in all things and yet they, “did not wait for his plan to unfold.”  In much the same way we also forget God’s faithfulness and do not wait.  We try to be the hand of God to make things move and happen.  It’s for this very reason that we see throughout the Bible reminders of what God has done.  Look in the Old Testament and you will see again and again the retelling of the stories about how God had worked.  Even in the New Testament we see how the people are reminded of the past, (see Act. 7 the story of Stephen).

In the same way we should not just read the Bible and teach it to our children, but we should be telling our children how God has worked in our lives.  Tell them of the miracles He has done on our behalf.  Now if you stop and think for a moment and say, but Philip I don’t have any stories to tell.  Well then, I think we have a problem, how can we say we are children of God but then say, “my dad has never done anything for me.”  What kind of a father do you have?  I can tell you that my Father has looked after me from the time I was a child. (ask me some time how my Father caught a bully on fire so he could not beat me up). Yes, to this very day I can give you story after story of how my God has worked in miraculous ways on my behalf.  If God is your father you should have some of your own stories, if not, why not?  Have you not asked Him? 

For I know He hears when His children call.  Or is it that you have just forgotten the great things He has done.  A great starting point is with your salvation.  Are you not a new and different person then who you where before that point?  Start there and tell the stories of God’s love and work in your life to your family.  At the same time encourage your family to tell their own stories so that everyone can know and so that we do not forget.  Forgetting what God has done is the first step to wandering.  Let us ever be faithful, let us never forget what great things He has done.