Remember, God Doesn't Forget!

Forgetting is possible for all who can remember, and God is the only exception to this rule.  People are pretty good about remembering important things, yet it is ironic we can forget who is most important:  God!  Jeremiah 2:32 says, "Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number."  It would be unheard of for a bride to forget to wear the dress she prepared to wear on her wedding day.  An aspiring employee would not forget to change out of his pajamas before a crucial interview.  God's people forgot about Him and the injustice of this error is frankly unbelievable.

God said of Zion and her people in Isaiah 49:15, "Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you."  It is possible for a loving mother to forget her child for a moment or lack compassion at times, but God will not forget His people.  Great consolation and comfort is found in God's remembrance of us, and He needs no reminders because we are always in His sight and in His thoughts.  God never suffers a lapse of concentration or dozes off and loses consciousness of our needs or circumstances.  God knows and He cares even if we forget about Him.

God had not forgotten His people, and He promised not to forget them in the future in Isaiah 44:21-23:  "Remember these, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me! ²² I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you." ²³ Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel."  God bid His people remember they would not be forgotten by Him.  God sent a Saviour Jesus Christ not only to redeem Israel but to seek and save all who come to Him in faith.  God remembers His redeemed, yet according to His justice and grace will remember our sins no more.

Let us not be negligent to thank and praise the LORD for His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus.  We ought to celebrate what Jesus has done and also rejoice in all Jesus is currently doing as He intercedes to the Father on our behalf.  Man is forgetful, but God is not unrighteous to forget our labour of love towards Him and others (Hebrews 6:10).  May your face shine with delight as you rejoice in the remembrance of our God and His faithful love towards you today.

The Overwhelming Signal

Life is overwhelming, and God uses this for our advantage.  When we are relaxing on the lounge or reading a book with a hot drink we are not conscious of our need to breathe because it occurs without thinking.  When we are being pulled underwater by a rip and our mouth fills with sea water, all our wandering thoughts and dreams instantly evaporate in frantic desperation for one quick gulp of oxygen to remain conscious.  The life we receive by faith in Christ is abundant and our eyes are open and our hearts attuned to far more than previously.  Selfishness is swallowed by selflessness, and our labours and concerns for others can spread ourselves thin.

David sang in Psalm 61:1-4:  "Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. ² From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.³ For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. ⁴ I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah"  David went from being a shepherd watching over his father's flock to leading a rowdy group of men as he fled for his life from his murderous father in law, king Saul.  See how 1 Samuel 22:2 describes them:  "And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him."  David was cut off from fellowship with his best friend Jonathan, his family was moved to safety in a foreign land and David for about a decade had no place to call home.

When David was overwhelmed with his life and circumstances it was a signal that prompted him to seek the LORD, the Rock of Salvation Who is a place of safety, provision and rest.  God had been a shelter for David when he guarded the flock, when he faced Goliath the Philistine and when he received tragic news which prompted others to despair.  He learned to cast his cares upon the LORD who cared for Him and by faith chose to abide in God wherever his travels led.  God for a season took away any temptation to trust in walls of stone or gates of iron so his only hope and help was in God.

A day came when David was crowned king.  Do you think life became easier for him, less overwhelming?  Not a chance!  He was first king over Judah and later became king over all Israel.  He had all the tribes to manage, a great army to command, and enemies on all sides!  What he learned in the fields of Bethlehem he continued to practice in his palace at Jerusalem, choosing to voluntarily leave when his own son Absalom rose up against him.  David willingly left the stronghold of Zion and sought refuge in the almighty, living God who had always been a refuge and strong tower for him from all enemies.

Experience is a great teacher, and take it from David:  God will hear our cries and attend to our prayers.  Only He can lead us to Himself and give us the strength and desire to abide in Him, to seek Him and hold on when we are overwhelmed.  In Him is strong consolation and we find rest for our souls.  When we hear the words of Jesus and do them, we are like one who builds a house on the rock.  No matter how great the storm or desperate our need, God will help and deliver us.  He is our refuge by faith and the Holy Spirit dwells within us.  No matter where we go we remain in Christ, God is in us and keeps us by His grace.  Being overwhelmed ought to lead to renewed trust in the LORD.

An Anchor of the Soul

"Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, ¹⁸ that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. ¹⁹ This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, ²⁰ where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

Hebrews 6:17-20

The hope of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is assured based upon the double-strong promise of God, and those who abide in Him have strong consolation which cannot be moved.  The illustration of an anchor is fitting, for it does not stop the ship from rocking on the waves.  I once worked on the U.S.S. Nimitz as a contractor and the two anchors of that immense vessel weigh 30 tonnes each!  While the ship was moored in the Coronado harbour I do not remember seeing the anchors, for they were likely submerged under the water.  What could not been seen with our eyes held the 100,000 tonne ship secure on the dock.  If you are interested to see what an anchor of the Nimitz looks like, follow this link.

The currents of the oceans are always moving, and at times great storms develop and sailors must ride them out.  Despite wind, waves and contrary current the child of God can be at rest because of the hope we have as an anchor of the soul.  Sailors drop anchor out of sight that rests on the seabed, yet through faith in Jesus who has gone into heaven He anchors our hearts there with an expectation of joining Him someday.  The massive anchors are able to hold fast an aircraft carrier, yet they are nothing compared to the God who created the heavens, earth and us.  Iron will rust and perish in sea water; the brake can fail and the anchor and chain can be lost.  In a total contrast to this God holds us fast without fail and is able to redeem us forever without the loss of a single soul who trusts in Him.

Deuteronomy 33:26-27 says, "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you, and in His excellency on the clouds. ²⁷ The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say, 'Destroy!'"  The children of Israel celebrated the living God, the eternal God who helped them and was their refuge.  Even if it feels like we are at the mercy of a satanic tide it is a mirage, for "underneath are the everlasting arms."  Having sought refuge in the LORD, He will surely help us and bear us up.  The hope in our Saviour is both sure and steadfast, established by the eternal and true word of God.  Jesus has ascended into heaven so He is able to anchor our hopes there in Him.  How blessed we are to have a God who rides the heavens to help us and will ensure we are gathered to Himself in heavenly glory. 

Inheriting God's Promises

"And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹² that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

Hebrews 6:11-12

Abraham and many others in scripture are examples of those who by faith and patience inherited the sure promises of God.  God promised He would make of Abraham a great nation, yet he and his wife continued to be childless for decades.  They did what they could, but their efforts were without success.  The promise was real yet God's timing was long, and thus patient endurance with faith was the means of seeing God's word amazingly, miraculously fulfilled.  Through Abraham and his seed all nations of the earth have been blessed.

God has not given the blessing of children to all, yet all of God's immutable promises are good blessings and glorious.  Jesus gives rest for weary souls, forgiveness to those who repent, joy and perfect peace to those who trust in Christ and fruitfulness for all who abide in Him.  At the end of our lives on earth all Christians will experience eternity with God in heaven, an everlasting glorious union where the troubles and toil of this life will fade without memory.  It is required of stewards they be faithful, and while our Master tarries there is much He would have us do.  It is foolish to imagine our efforts are pointless when God promises to bring the increase.  We remain on this planet not only to do God's work, but so He can do a marvelous work to refine us.  Consider this quote from Charles Jefferson concerning pastoral ministry which can relate to all believers who know Christ as LORD:

"The shepherd grows in patience.  As long as he lives, his work makes heavy demands on his powers of endurance, but they respond to the call.  The work of a shepherd is full of interruptions, vexations, and disappointments, but these try his soul and refine it.  The precipitate hastiness of the earlier years gives way to calm deliberativeness, and the feverish irritability of youth is replaced by the cool strength of forbearance.  In working with human nature a man gets something of the patience of a mother.  He is not daunted by a score of failures.  He does not surrender to apparent defeat.  If doing a thing nineteen times is not sufficient, he is willing to do it the twentieth time.

The grace of humility is watered and unfolded by the shepherd's toil...The shepherd, working with individuals, faces failure, again and again.  As a guide he is rejected; his counsel is despised.  As a physician he is baffled; the diseases of the soul will not yield.  As a saviour he is defeated; he cannot bring back a sheep that is lost.   There is always a joy in his heart over what he achieves, but there is also always a heaviness because of what he fails to do.  'Sorrowing, yet always rejoicing'--this is a fit description of a shepherd's life.  He always is being thrown back on God.  While some men dream of speedy ending of evils, and other men trust jauntily to experiments in legislation, he knows the power of sin and realities that there is no help for the world this side of God.  His experience in fighting evil face to face brings him into the dust.  Moreover, his work is never done...After he has done a thousand things, he can think of a thousand other things still to do.  After he has done his best, he feels like confessing himself an unprofitable servant.  The shepherd's work is never done." (Jefferson, Charles Edward. The Minister as Shepherd: the Privileges and Responsibilities of Pastoral Leadership. CLC Publications, 2006. pages 136-137)

The confidence of Paul was not in the faithfulness in the people of the church of Philippi but in the faithfulness of God to work in and through them as partakers of the Gospel.  He wrote in Philippians 1:3-6, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ⁵ for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..."  Paul continued to pray for his brothers and sisters in Christ because all his confidence was in God who would bring them to completion.  Trusting people to be faithful will always expose our confidence as misplaced.  What assurance of hope we have in God, and through faith and patience in Him we will inherit the promises.