On Sunday as part of the message, I made the following statement, “I am convinced that part of the fall of mankind is that we forget what we should remember, and we remember the things that we should forget.” I think this is proven over and over how we can remember the one bad thing that happened during our day, but we often forget to remember and thank God for the nine things that went well. I think we see this statement proven in our Scripture for the day in Blogging Through The Bible In 2020 as well. Deuteronomy 1:32 says, “Yet, for all that, you did not believe the Lord your God.”
Part of the fall of mankind is this, we forget what we should remember, and we remember the things we should forget. Click To TweetMoses is giving a history lesson as the book opens. He is reminding Israel of why they had been wandering in the wilderness for the last 38 years. He also recounted all the ways that God had showed that He was with Israel, and Moses recounted many of the blessings of God towards Israel. Yet, Israel still struggled to believe that God loved them, that He was with them, and that they could trust God even when His plan didn’t seem to make sense to them. Moses wanted Israel to understand that God does everything with a purpose. Nothing is by accident, luck, or coincidence. The events of life are a reminder of the sovereignty of God. Let’s be honest though, we sometimes struggle to trust that God’s plan is best for us. We have our own ideas of what would be best. I heard a pastor say before, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”
"If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." Click To TweetWhen of the greatest helps in strengthening our faith today is to remember God’s faithfulness to us in the past. God has promised that He will be present with us as His children at all times. As believers today, we have the Spirit of God living inside of us (see 1 Cor. 6:19). The Holy Spirit living inside of us is the proof and fulfillment of David’s words in the Old Testament when he wrote, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I feel from Your presence” (Psa. 139:7)? It’s not that we should deny our present struggles, it is that we should remember the power of God and the presence of God in our struggles. As the saying goes, “I may not know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds my tomorrows.” Pray, give your joys and your sorrows over to the Lord, and trust that He will work things out for His glory and your good as He promised to.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin