Remember

 “As I lie in bed I remember you…” (Psalm 63:6)

If you’re on Facebook, you know that the first time you log on every day you are shown some pictures from the same date one or more years ago. It’s Facebook’s way of stirring your memory of something that was important enough to post in the past. They even have a link to your account’s “Memories”, and at the top of the page it says, “We hope you enjoy looking back and sharing your memories on Facebook, from the most recent to long ago.” Here’s my Facebook memory for today, from April 1, 2021 (which was Good Friday):

Photos help me to remember. In the dark gray days of winter, I can look at pictures I have taken of beautiful spring and summer flowers and butterflies. The pictures of past experiences of nature’s beauty assure me that there are more such experiences in my future. 

Remembering the past gives me hope for the future.

Memories are a wonderful way to trigger faith. It is in the act of remembering that we can look back in our lives and see the goodness of God active. Remembering will help us recall all the ways that God has blessed us, as well as ways that God has brought us through difficult times. Remembering how God has provided for us, guided us, watched over us, blessed us, and cared for us in the past will affirm God’s faithfulness and steadfast love for us. 

In the 63^rd psalm David says, 

As I lie in bed, I remember you;
    all night long I think of you,
     because you have always been my help.

(Psalm 63:6-7a)

It is in remembering God that David realizes that God has always been there for David, always helping him along the way, through thick and through thin. Knowing that God has always been his help, David chooses to trust God for the future: 

In the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
I cling to you,
    and your hand keeps me safe.

(Psalm 63:7b-8)

When we remember God’s loving and saving actions on our behalf in the past, then we are confident in God’s loving and saving actions on our behalf in the present, and we are filled with hope that God will act similarly in the future. Remembering God from our past gives us hope for the future. To reflect upon God’s amazing providence in our lives in the past will give us confidence as we face an uncertain future.

I’m pretty sure that Jesus knew that memory is a powerful aid to faith when he shared his last meal with his disciples. For in that meal, he said, “Take and eat… Do this in remembrance of me,” and “Drink of this, all of you… Do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus knew, I’m pretty sure, that when we remember what he has done for us, then we will be filled with hope and strength to endure the present and to face the future. Jesus knew, I’m pretty sure, that when we remember the immeasurable depth of the love that he has shown to us, then we can be sure that the same love is being poured out upon us today, and the same love will be poured out upon us every today that we live – all the way into eternity.

I don’t know what the future holds for me. But I remember the ways that God has brought me through life thus far, and so I can face the future with peace and assurance. 

Because God is faithful. 

I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know God. 

And that is enough to get me through today.