Memory is a powerful tool. Thinking back to being in high school, I was the kid who always always seemed to forget everything. I would forget my backpack at home, of course, filled with all my homework assignments that were supposed to be turned in that day. Even to this day, I find that I can be forgetful, so to keep myself on top of things, I have reminders set for everything on my iPhone. Between music lessons, work, home schedules, rehearsals and other events, I have to be pretty diligent to have my wonderful phone assistant (I call her Car-ly) remind me of what needs done.
Memory is something that I find to be very interesting. I cannot always control what or how I remember certain experiences, and it is fascinating to think about how our brain classifies information that is important to us to remember—whether positive or negative. I remember very clearly the morning that I proposed to my wife. I remember the smell of the air, the thin layer of snow that crunched under our feet while we walked near a pond, the outfit that she was wearing that morning, as well as a hundred other details. I also clearly remember the night that I left in the middle of a high school basketball game to drive to the hospital where my grandpa was dying of cancer. I remember the smell of the hospital room, the look in his eyes, knowing he could understand what I was saying but wasn't able to respond with words.
Our brains are incredible miracles, storing and filtering information in incredible detail about certain experiences and events. With time, of course, some memories do begin to fade, not because they are no longer important or the experience was any less impactful. Sometimes, we just need to hold on to reminders of the experiences we want to remember.
As I was reading in 1 Samuel 7, the reminder of God's faithfulness was marked on the land with a stone.
The Israelites were being attacked by the Philistines, when God’s power thundered down on the Philistine army. In the chaos and confusion of the thunder, the Israelites then attacked and drove out the Philistine army.
Then Samuel took a stone and set is up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying "thus far, the Lord has helped us." -1 Samuel 7:12
Samuel recognized the importance of remembering how God allowed the Israelites to be victorious in battle. Many times in the Old Testament, the Israelites would set up an altar dedicated to remember God's faithfulness.
As children of God, we have so many things that we can look to for encouragement and strength, things that God has done in our lives. Unfortunately, I find that it can be pretty easy to set those things aside in times of struggle and hardship. I often focus my eyes on the very real, difficult situations that we all go through, all too quickly forgetting to set my eyes on all that God has done for me. I have allowed the memories of provision and blessing to be covered with a blanket of worry and fear. My mom has a quote hanging in one of the rooms of her house saying, “there is always, always, always, always, always something to be thankful for.”
I am learning that when I am dealing with something difficult, whether relational issues, financial difficulties or health problems, my attitude shifts when I choose to remember the great things God has done in my life. Of course my attitude shift may not actually fix the problem, but it allows me to navigate the circumstances under the promise and reminder that God has been faithful, and will continue to be faithful.
I desire to be a child of God who remembers God and thanks him for his goodness. There will continue to be difficult seasons and extreme difficulties in life—this is no question. But when we remember that we have the power of Christ in us to overcome all that we face, we can say, "the Lord has helped me thus far, and he will help me still." As we face the challenges of life together, lets strive to remember all that God has done for us and put our hope and faith in a God who has and will continue to prove himself faithful.
Thanks for reading,
Ryan
rpickrel@b4church.org
No comments:
Post a Comment