GOD REMEMBERS
GOD REMEMBERS
I remember when in Florida I requested prayers for myself to be stronger in the Lord and that I needed to be a better Christian. (Looking back on that request, I realize even more now than ever a greater need for strength). In that request, a dear sister humbly chided me for asking for such strength because she felt as the preacher, I was already strong. She equated being the preacher and strength on the same footing. To her the request somehow brought me down because I wasn’t one of them—but the preacher. It was from that brief exchange I was taught a lesson on humility and was determined to show and let my fallibility be known.
How often do we do God the same because He is the eternal Spirit? We infer what God never implies about His essence. We conclude because He is God, He is void of feeling. And since He is God, surely, He cannot be bothered or concerned with little me. But God is not an impersonal being inhabiting heaven void without feeling. As a matter of fact, we have taken on the emotions of God being made in His moral image.
In the book of Jeremiah, God expresses to His apostate people His deep feelings from the past—what He remembered about them. “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: ‘I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, when you went after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown’” (Jeremiah 2: 2). It was here in this text that God was revealing his heart—his pain and sorrow over their apostate state. In a powerful moment, God shared His heart with His people recalling what it was like when they first began loving Him. He remembered how they had loved Him as a new bride loves her husband, with excitement and enthusiasm for the future. He recalled the kindness they had expressed to Him as they willingly followed Him wherever He led them. God reminded them of the love they had once had for Him, so that the memory might rekindle feelings of devotion and their hearts might return to Him. Yes, God remembers. My question to you is: Do you?
Do you remember the joy you had when you first became a Christian? Do you remember the youthful commitments of servitude you made to Him, pledging to do anything He told you to do? Do you remember the day of your repentance after God brought you up out of the miry clay of sin? Do you remember how that love permeated your life and became evident and obvious to all those around you?
It is a dangerous thing for us to drift away from God and not realize it. We made promises and vows to God. We resolved to be greater in service, fidelity and faithfulness. We prayed hard, fervent and effectual. God answered our prayers and has brought us through many things. It is now time to rekindle our fires for the Lord. It is time for us to pay up on the vows and promises we made. If your love for God is not as intense as it once was, return to Him and He will restore the intimate fellowship you once shared with Him. I lovingly bring this to all our attention just in case we have forgotten; but not God, for: GOD REMEMBERS!
~Stacey Mobley