Remember When...?

“This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

--Luke 22:19b-20

I just got done reading a devotional thought out of Beth Moore’s, “Believing God Day by Day” where she proposes that the Old Testament nation of Israel’s rebellion always stemmed from their lack of remembering what God had already done for them. What’s frightening to me is that I can pick out the same behavior in my own life. When I find myself doubting God’s ability or desire to fulfill a promise (on my timetable) it’s because I have forgotten what God has already done for me in the past. And so I start looking for ways to solve the situation on my own strength. And when this happens, I experience what my students would say, an epic failure.

But Jesus gives us a way to regularly remember all that was done for us at the Communion Table. And while the sacrifice of His life for the redemption of mine is a big chunk of what I meditate on during those quiet moments in a church service, I’d like to begin remembering more than that.

For when I begin worrying about my finances, I can remember when God supplied my needs in the past.

For when I begin worrying about my health, I can remember the good news report that the doctor gave me in the past.

For when I begin worrying about a relationship, I can remember the way that forgiveness and/or compromise mended things in the past. 

For when I begin worrying about some aspect of my job, I can remember how I was given insight to resolve the issue in the past.

For when I begin worrying about not having enough time to get everything done, I can remember how He has intervened so that the priorities didn’t get sacrificed for the less significant in the past.

For when I begin worrying about (fill in the blank), I can remember (fill in the blank) in the past.

Remembering what God has already done for me the past is a powerful way to keep myself under the umbrella of His blessing and continue to trust His authority in my life.