The God Who Remembers You

On 21st September 1914  Laurence Binyon’s poem was first published, which is now heard by millions each 11th November.  

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning, 
We will remember them.  

We rely on memory for our identity.  How often have I run up stairs to get something, only to find at the top of the stairs I have forgotten what it was that I was going to look for?  Urrrg.  What about you?  We all find those experiences frustrating.  Simon and Garfunkle sang about memory.  

“Time it was, and what a time it was.  
It was a time of innocence, a time of confidences.  
Long ago, it must be.  I have a photograph.  
Preserve your memories; they're all that's left you.”  

Our memories, and how we are remembered, help make us who we are.

Think how important it is for us to remember a person’s face, their name, and something about them.  What happens when someone is forgotten?  The person feels insulted, unloved, unimportant, rejected, hurt, and insignificant.  

When disaster struck, when the floods came, and Noah and his family had been in the ark for almost 10 months, they wondered if they would ever see the sunshine again.  They wondered if they would survive.  The Bible says something curious about God: “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.”  It doesn’t mean that God forgets us when we are in trouble, or when things are going bad.  When we’re in trouble and having a hard time, it’s good to know that someone is thinking about us, remembering us.  And if the One thinking of us is the Creator of all the universe, it’s even better.

God remembered his people throughout the generations (Psalm 105:8) and continues to remember us each and every day. No matter what you and I are going through – the calm or the storm – the Lord sees and remembers you. He loves you and cares for you.  

I invite you to take a moment each day this week to reflect on who God is and what he is doing in your life and this week take comfort in remembering that he is a God who remembers you.  

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” –Deuteronomy 7:9