Crosses in windows...Easter egg hunts advertised everywhere....
As believers we are thrilled to celebrate our hero and His breakthrough. His destruction of death.
Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.
Psalm 103:2 says "Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits"
the NLT says "Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me."
Pastor Chad Veach mentioned this verse in 2013 in his message to Fresh Life Church. His testimony has really ministered to me.
He has a daughter with special needs, she has a brain disorder.
He discusses in his book "Unreasonable Hope" how one huge way he has endured this trial is by remembering...
He chooses to forget NOT all of God's benefits.
He chooses to never forget the good things God has done.
This one word "remember" has been ringing in my ear and resonating in my Spirit for a few weeks now.
In Fervent, Priscilla Shirer asks her grandmother why she writes down her prayers in a prayer journal, she says ---so she won't forget.
I love photos. I have film photos. I have polaroids from elementary school. I absolutely adore looking through photos (you may have noticed this...I go a little crazy on Throwback Thursday on my instagram)
But here's the thing....we are a forgetful people. I can sit with my husband and tell him "Remember when?" More often than not my husband says "I don't remember that!"
It's not about reflecting on the good ole days...it's about recalling fond memories of God's glorious works, His miracles, His answers to prayers (yes, no or wait) and His hand upon my life.
I try to remember every day how God has answered so many prayers by giving Isaac speech. When I get frustrated because Isaac forgot to flush the toilet, I remember, there was a time I prayed and prayed and prayed for him to just learn how to use the potty. And he can. And we are thankful.
When I look in my home, I remember how I grew up with 1 bathroom for many people. Now I have 2 bathrooms in my home---GLORIOUS.
Sometimes I even look in my purse and find money. I recall when I was a teen and even 1 dollar meant I was rich! I could buy a soda or a bean burrito from Taco Bell. You get the picture.
Remind yourself.
We sing "I remind myself of all that you've done. And the life I have because of your Son"
This is what Easter is all about- reminding ourselves of the victory of the cross.
Sometimes I think we sanitize Easter. We know the story all too well.
Can you imagine being spit at?
Can you imagine being beaten while blind folded?
Can you imagine the pain of watching your friends leave you?
Can you imagine the pain of looking down at your mom, the one who cleaned every boo-boo you ever had, every scraped knee, now looking up at you dying a sinner's death and there was nothing she could do about it? Call the ACLU? No. Call a lawyer for failure to read him his Miranda rights? No. She could do nothing...nothing but watch in horror.
And what about the two gangsters next to you?
They deserved their death. They were guilty guilty guilty.
And what did they do? They joined in the mockery. You were the butt of jokes, even on the cross, people were laughing and sneering.
(Now this part I hate. It always gets me.)
The purple robe and crown of thorns. Royalty putting on rags. King of all authority wearing blood drops on his head where the thorns pierced through the already bruised and beaten forehead.
Then they strip the robe off peeling layers of bloody skin that dried to it and gamble for the robe.
When you truly create the Biblical image of the cross in your mind it makes you sick to your stomach....and that is not even the full picture. We can only visualize the best we can, but the truth is, the cross was worse- more horrific than we can ever dream.
Yet He did it for you and me.
So how can we NOT remember??
How can we NOT choose daily to remember His blessings BIG and small?
Here's what happens.
We get comfortable. We get comfortable in our "day in and day out" of life that we forget.
It's not intentional...It's just part of our brain- we are forgetful.
NOW how can we fix this?
Well as I mentioned previously I love photos.
I love to write notes to my husband.
I love to receive notes from family members and friends.
Let's choose to FORGET NOT His benefits.
Let's write it down. So we can remember. Let's take mental pictures of God's goodness and remind ourselves daily.
Write a thank you note to the LORD (like Keith Green did...He said he wrote a letter to the LORD and put it in His Bible)
Write a list of blessings and pull it out when you are feeling blue.
Choose to remember.
Choose to recall.
The memory is an amazing thing. All it needs is a trigger. That's why we are so blessed to have God's Word.
The psalms are filled with lists of miracles God did and invites us to remember.
Remember God gave Gideon the victory
Remember God saved Noah and his family
Remember God provided the ram/the sacrifice to be burned instead of Isaac
Remember Joseph and his troubles and how God worked all things together for good
Remember how He used little Esther's beauty to help save the Israelites for total destruction
Remember how God changed Saul into Paul and used him mightily
Remember when God paid that bill for you so miraculously
Remember when the LORD gave you the exact words to share with that stranger
Remember the day you said Yes to Jesus
Remember the cross
I love Psalm 103:2 in NLT it reads "Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me."
This is Good Friday and Easter. Remembering Jesus. Remembering His goodness to us. Choose to Remember and let not your heart be troubled as you forget NOT His benefits.
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