A Reason to Remember (An Encouraging Word)
[Scroll down for the Christmas breakfast registration link!]
One day over the summer I excitedly shouted to my daughters, “Girls! Come quick! There’s two swans over here!”
They looked utterly unimpressed. One replied, “Yeah, we see them all the time when we kayak.”
We were at our favorite vacation spot, and since I don’t often kayak, this was the closest I had seen the swans. Filled with childlike awe and wonder, I watched them effortlessly glide along the water’s edge.
I thought of the contrast between my daughters’ reaction and mine. It reminded me of a prayer Jill Briscoe shared with us many years ago at one of our events: “Lord, please freshen the familiar.”
Whether it’s swans, Scripture, or the sacrifice of our Savior, we often lose our sense of wonder over what is familiar, don’t we?
Maybe this is why the psalmist, David, instructed himself to remember who God is and what He’s done. In Psalm 103 he wrote:
“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s… The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love… For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:2-5, 8, 11-12 NIV).
The word “forget” in Psalm 103:2 can also mean to ignore or cease to care. According to Strong’s Definitions, it implies “to be oblivious of, from want of memory or attention.”
When I read that, I couldn’t help but ask: How could such miraculous acts of grace be ignored? How could they be forgotten? I want to think I would never stop caring about who God is or stop paying attention to what He’s done!
Yet, the Bible makes it clear that it’s not only possible, it’s probable. God knows our tendency to forget. And through the accounts of men and women in the Bible – as well as through our own experiences – we know it, too.
Rendering the remarkable as ordinary is often the first step towards forgetting. If we long for the Lord to “freshen the familiar” and to walk in wonderment of our Savior, let’s begin by remembering who He is and all He’s done for us personally.
Why not take some time to reflect on Psalm 103 today and thank God for the cross, the gift of your salvation, and for who He is. Consider writing down the “benefits” you’ve experienced as His child – and revisit and add to this list often!
With much love in Christ,
Cara Blondo
PS - Registration is open for the Women’s Ministry Christmas breakfast! Join us on Saturday, December 13, as we celebrate the season and our Savior together! We’ll be joined by Liz Hargraves for a special message entitled “Behold Him.” Click here for more information and to register.
We wish to see Jesus –John 12:21