Remember
Today, I read Psalm 77:11-15 and started remembering some of the things that God has done in my life. A few thoughts about these verses came to mind that I would like to share.
Psalm 77:11-15
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will qremember you wonders of old. 12 I will ponder all your r work and meditate on your mighty deeds. 13 You way, O God, is holy. U What god is great like our God? 14 You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. 15 You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph.
When we reflect and remember the deeds of the Lord, what comes to mind? It’s easy to remember all the things that are recorded in the Bible. There's the creation of the world, David vs Goliath, Daniel in the Lion's Den, Jonah in the belly of the whale, and many other events where God powerfully showed his hand at work. That is what Aspha was talking about in Psalm 77:11, the wonders of old.
But what about when we reflect on the work that God has done in our own lives? For some people, this is a little more difficult to do, for others it's easy. Some people pray for years and even decades before God answers their prayers. For example, from the time I accepted Christ, I began praying that God would give me a beautiful wife. Five years later, God answered that prayer and gave me Bethany, my amazingly beautiful wife that I don't deserve. Sometimes, we pray for years for something to happen, but God never makes it happen. We know that hindsight is 20/20. Later in life, we can look back and remember that God never answered a specific prayer, but we can see that it was for our own good. Or we see someone else go down that same road, and we thank God that He didn’t send us in that direction like we asked.
As we look back on God’s mighty work in our lives, it helps us build our faith. Some of those things are small, and others are huge. God works wonders in our lives so that we will know his great love for us. Another example from my life is God’s healing hand. I used to be severely Dyslexic and could not read anything more than a children's picture book with very few words. But after I accepted Christ in my life at the age of 20, God began a healing work. He healed me from dyslexia and now I’m able to read at a high college level and understand it. I don’t say these things to toot my own horn, but to brag about the wonderful work that God has done.
Aspha asked in Psalm 77:13 “What god is great like our God?” Aspha isn’t implying that there are other gods in our world, but that our God is greater than all the things that we set up as false gods in our lives. Many people end up looking to things other than God. Money, jobs, possessions, and many other things become false gods or idols. Then this happens, and people put their trust in these things instead of God. That is when it becomes a sin. The enemy's job is to try to lead us away from God and trust in other things.
Psalm 35:10 (NLT) says, “With every bone in my body I will praise him: ‘Lord, who can compare with you? Who else rescues the helpless from the strong? Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?’”
We know that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10) us by robbing us of our faith in God. But God sent Jesus so that those who trust in him may have abundant life through him (John 10:10). Jesus is the arm of God. He is the one who came to redeem us through His mighty deed. That is what the psalmist leads us to today in chapter 77 verse 15. “By your strong arm, you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.” The Israelites, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph, remembered how God saved them through the Pentateuch. As believers in Christ, God adopts us as his children, and we are able to reap the benefits.
Now, back to the original question, “When we reflect and remember the deeds of the Lord, what comes to mind?” I believe we should all keep some sort of list that we review from time to time to help us remember the work God has done in our lives. Some things are always easy to remember and others are more difficult. That's where keeping a journal, traditional or digital, will help us remember the things that are more difficult. It's easy for me to remember the big things that God has done for me that are part of my testimony. But other things are more difficult to remember, such as how God used me in miraculous ways to influence the lives of other people. These are the kinds of things I write in my journal. As we recall the wondrous works that the Lord has done in our lives, it helps to strengthen and build our faith and trust in Him.
I want to encourage you today to spend some time meditating and pondering on the things that God has done. Start by thinking about the things we can read in scripture, then dive deeply into what God has done in your life. Write these things down so you can read them years from now and encourage your faith.
We would enjoy hearing some of the wonderful things God has done in your life in the comments below.
