This race I am going on a quest to discover characteristcs of God’s unchanging character and that has led me to his remembrance which I have thought about for years actually and wondered about. So it all started with the pre-chorus to the song, “Your Grace is Enough”. The pre-chorus goes, “remember your people, remember your children, remember your promise oh God”. That line in particular frequently plays over and over in my head and especially the last few months on the race. Why? I wasn’t so sure so I started digging into the instances God remembers his people.
Soooooo back in Africa after ministry when I had a lot of free time I started looking at this.
Here are some verses I have found:
- Genesis 8:1 but God remembered Noah and all the beasts.
Lil’ background: Noah was on a boat with two of every kind of animal while God flooded the earth for 40 days and 40 nights doing a bit of a global restart people have called it. I don’t know about you but I know at least for me that’s a long time on a boat, and I’m not talking a 40 day cruise ship joy ride, he was on a boat with an entire zoo, and his family. Did I mention, ALL on a BOAT! But God remembered Noah all of that time.
- Genesis 30:22 God remembered Rachel and listened to her and opened her womb.
Lil’ background: Rachel was married to Jacob and was sadly not able to have children but Jacob’s other wife Leah had many sons. That led Rachel to be deeply sad and jealous of Leah. So she prayed and prayed to God and he finally gave her two sons Jospeh and then Benjamin as well! Joseph grew up to save his entire family and all of Egypt from a very long famine.
- 1 Samuel 1:19b and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.
Hannah was also barren. She prayed and prayed but God kept saying no. Then she was in the temple one day pouring out her heart in prayer to God and she made a promise to him. She said, “Lord if you give me a son I will give him right back to you. He will grow up and live in the temple doing your work”. Then the Lord allowed her to concieve a son. She then honored her promise and gave him, Samuel, right back to the Lord. He grew up to became a great judge over the Irealites and pointed them back to God again and again. Without Samuel’s guidance and faith in the Lord the Israelites would have been very lost.
- Psalm 40:17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought of me.
In other words, although I am nothing in the eyes of the world, the God over all things thinks of me, remembers me
- Psalm 105:8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations
This verse says it all right here. “He remembers” not “He might remember”, not “He might forget then remember”, not even “He usually remembers” but simply “He remembers”. It is just a fact, it is who he is.
These are just a small small portion of verses that reference God’s character of remembrance. His constant remembrance of his chosen people the Israelites, and of all of us. He will never go back on his word.
I think the reason it baffles my mind that He remembers us is because I know how hard I have to work to remember things. If you don’t know this about me, unless I write something down I will never remember it no matter how hard I try. But God doesn’t forget, he doesn’t even have to make sure he writes it down! He remembers what one of his children has said because that’s his character, that is just WHO HE IS! The creator of the universe, of the stars, and the oceans, and of the towering mountains, my vast, infinitely enormous, unfathomable God, remembers me!! That blows my mind!
That is the God that I want to praise all the rest of my days. One that knows my name, knows it’s me calling to him, and remembers me amdist all of the things happening on earth. Even though the world may count me as nothing the Lord of all remembers me because I am his child and he loves me deeper than I could ever understand. WHAT A GOD!
