Remembering

Deuteronomy 8:2 (NIV)

“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.”

November is a month of remembering. On All Souls Day, the day after Halloween, many churches remember those who have died. On Guy Fawkes we remember a treacherous plot and on Armistice Day we remember those who have died in conflict. I often spend November contemplating what it means for me as a Christian to remember the past in the light of Jesus, our living hope for the future.

In our culture we are encouraged to live in the present and look to the future rather than find time to consider our past.  By neglecting our past we forget who we are. In the wilderness the people of God forgot who they were and the promises that God had for them. They squabbled, they fought and forgot who they were in Him and turned away. When we forget our past, forgetting what God has taught us and his faithfulness to us in Jesus, we run the risk of being like the people in the wilderness, squabbling with each other and turning away from God.

As Christians we are called to keep our eyes on Jesus, who was and is and is to come. He forgives us our past, gives us strength for the present and hope for the future. As we remember God’s faithfulness to us, we are reminded of who we are in him - redeemed and restored - and that makes all the difference in how we live now.

Prayer – Thank you for your faithfulness to me. Thank you for forgiving my past. I ask for strength for today and trust in you for my future.