Remember. Remember. Remember. A Call to Remember.
“Don’t forget to clean up your room, John, before football practice.”
“Don’t forget to take out the trash before you go to bed, John.”
“Don’t forget to take your house key to school, John, so you won’t be locked out of the house.”
These are all sayings I remember vividly growing up. In fact, I hear my mom in my head now! Remembering is essential in life. The Bible is filled with commands for God’s people to remember (Exodus 20:8; Deuteronomy 5:15; 1 Corinthians 11:25; Luke 22:19). Check this out: Psalm 106:45 says, “For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.” Even God remembers, in a sense!
The book of Exodus can be broken down into two halves. First, it details how God is the ultimate rescuer of Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt (chaps. 1-19). Second, it explains the covenant He made with His people (chaps. 20-40). In Exodus, the word “remember” is mentioned about seven times. One important verse that describes the character of God is Exodus 13:3–“Then Moses said to the people, ‘Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place.’” Moses desires for the Israelites to remember God’s great power and his character. Namely, His “strong right hand” (13:3; 9; 15) and love and care for them, His people.
When we think about God, we must consider these characteristics about Him. We must remember. And in light of racial tension, prejudice, and violent killings (even while jogging or in your home eating ice cream), we must not lose sight of the character of God. I believe the primary reason is because remembering the character of God gives us hope. Hope is the language of the Christian that cannot trust in anything else but leans on the Lord’s understanding (Proverbs 3:5). Hope is the confident expectation that the Lord will right all the wrongs that we face as a collective people.
In the original version of the Negro spiritual Free at Last, it has some striking lyrics that touches the soul and a remembrance of the character of God that one cannot help but break out and shout praising the Lord! A Call to Remember!!
Free at Last, free at last,
Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last.
Free at Last, free at last,
Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last.
O, remember the day.
I remember it well;
My dungeon shook
And my chains fell off.
In light of the challenging, difficult, and exhausting cultural climate we live in, it will do us well to remember God in these moments. Remember that God has always brought His people through tough times because He is a God full of love, grace, and compassion. Now, our times are tough, but I’m not sure if they were tougher than what the Israelites were going through with slavery under Pharaoh. But we serve the same God that they served, and He rescued them by his great power and the command to remember is the same for us today. And as we remember we can have hope. Remember. Remember. Remember. Hope you enjoyed and were inspired by this Call to Remember.
Prayer Requests:
- Pray that we don’t forget that the Lord is near to the broken hearted.
- Pray that we continue to have hope that the Lord will right every wrong.
- Pray that we remember God’s character, namely the goodness of our great God (Psalm 119:68).
