Memorials

………….Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me (Isaiah 46:9 NKJV)

Our lives tend to centre on what is happening right now, the present circumstances and how we are experiencing life. Our thoughts and emotions are tuned to our current situations and how to navigate what we are dealing with for now. Our energy is so consumed by the present even when the current situation is somewhat similar to a previous event.  As we manoeuvre the present, our thoughts and plans look into the future so that what is going now right now connects to the future which unfortunately we do not know how it will unfold.  I have found that when we face difficult situations only through the lens of the present and the possibility of the future, we tend to grow anxious and worried.  This emotional state steals our focus, strength, peace and hope, which only makes it more difficult to reach a solution to our current predicament, leaving us in a vicious circle of despair and fear.

The above verse invites us to remember, look back at the past and recall what we faced, how it happened and most importantly that you came out of it. I do not know about you, but I seem to struggle to remember things that happened, it is like we are always looking ahead and not taking enough time to reflect on where we have been through, the race is always to the future, making us discard the wisdom and the strength of the past.  For just a moment today, sit with me on the past and let us count our blessings.  Look back to times when issues before you seemed insurmountable and yet when you look back you realize you overcame them, you came through.  God told the children of Israel to build a memorial of how He saved them in crossing the Jordan River, this was a reminder for them to generations (Joshua 4:1-7).  The stones were to be a memorial of what God did for them, His power and might in their journey to the promised land.  Jacob also built a memorial after encountering an angel at Bethel (Genesis 28:13–19).  Jesus our Lord and Saviour during the last supper also told us to celebrate His death and resurrection in Holy Communion as a remembrance of Him (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

The Word of God was written to give us hope and comfort, learning from the experiences of those who went before (Romans 15:4-6), we are informed by their lives.  Beloved, there is something about remembrance of past situations as we observe the hand of God in our lives.  While we do not dwell on the past, we are encouraged not to forget it, for it testifies to the work of God in our lives and the fulfilment of His word in our daily struggles.  When we look back to situations which we feared would drown us, and realize that God did not let us go under, we are encouraged to forge ahead, comforted in His hope that even what we are facing today, will be a memorial of victory in the future.  We can then look into the future with positive expectation, convinced that the unchanging God will see us through, we are not to stop, we are going through, capturing testimonies of God’s faithfulness in our lives.

Dr Sarah K. recently sang, “I made it through, though I do not know how I did it, the only thing I know is that Jehovah took it over”.  This is a testimony of many people, for when we had no idea how to go through, the Lord has continually led us out.  We therefore will remember those times with thankfulness to God.

Thoughts:

Where are your memorial stones?

How does reflecting on the past impact your faith for today?

Would your victories encourage another?  Who?  How?