Don’t Forget to Remember
How are you feeling today? It has been a while since I last checked in and I hope that you had a great weekend. How are you doing with your goals this year? Earlier in the year, I mentioned that I tend to complete goal setting in the spring time instead of in January. I do this to mirror the flow of the seasons, as creation is birthed and revived in the spring time. Many of us are experiencing the beauty of Spring in the warm weather, sunshine past 6 pm, blooming of flowers, budding of trees, and the growth of fruits and veggies. It is a beautiful time of transition and growth that can often become overshadowed by the other parts of spring like rain showers, pollen, insects, losing an hour during daylights saving, and the awful seasonal allergies. What we see during this time is that two realities can exist at once, much like the majority of our lives.
The Children of Israel often found themselves on a seesaw ride of highs and lows as they left Egypt and headed into the promised land. Every time God delivered, provided, and protected the Israelites, there was another event that caused them to doubt again. They doubted that God would come through for them like he did before. I found it interesting in reading through Deuteronomy and Joshua how many times they needed to be reminded of their God. They were constantly reminded of his faithfulness and every time that He delivered them.. He delivered them from Egypt on dry ground, provided mana from Heaven in the wilderness, protected them from being attacked by other nations and wild animals, and then led them in to their promised land by crossing the Jordan River again on dry ground. This theme of remembrance is so strong that hundreds of years later, we see David constantly referring to these miraculous moments when he needed to encourage himself in the Psalms.
Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind! He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot - come let us rejoice in him. Psalm 66:5-6 NIV
It was through reading this I was reminded how important it is to remember God's character and his track record. Remembering when and how God showed up can be encouraging for when you are going through a tough time and you can't figure out how you are going to make it through. You can remember how God moved before and be encouraged that he can and will do it again. Remembering can also help motivate you to move forward into what God has promised you. Taking a step of faith and transitioning in to new territory can be just as difficult. Building your dreams can be beautiful and inspiring, but also very overwhelming. The Children of Israel wanted to enter in to their promised land, but did not realize that they would have to fight the people who occupied the land to claim what God promised them. Even though God delivered their enemies into their hands before they crossed over, God commanded that they remember all he had done in the past.
When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight….In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever. Joshua 4:1-3;6-7 NIV
As you prepare to transition into the second quarter of the year, I encourage you to remember. Reflect on all that God has done in the past and all the times He has been faithful to you and your loved ones. Create your own stones of remembrance that will help you move forward in to everything that God has promised you and to help you overcome any circumstance that you find yourself in over the next few months.
