Streams of Mercy

Yesterday’s Sunday School lesson posed the question “What difference does remembering make in our relationship with God?”

I recalled a minister in my home church years ago speaking of “the remembered goodness of God.” I remembered an old Dotty Rambo song “Remind Me, Dear Lord”: “Roll back the curtain of memory now and then; show me where you brought me from, and where I might have been. Remember I’m human, and humans forget, so remind me, remind me dear Lord.”

I revisited Ellie Holcomb’s delightful children’s book, Don’t Forget to Remember, celebrating creation’s reminders of God’s love, which surrounds us from sunrise to sunset, even on our most forgetful of days.

“Don’t forget to remember you’re never alone

No matter if you are up high or down low

And as sure as the sun will keep rising above,

Don’t forget to remember that you’re dearly loved.”

Remembering the past accurately can help to keep things in perspective. In the wilderness, God had met the people’s basic needs for food and clothing consistently. In the new land, they could trust that God would provide the abundance out of that same grace. They would receive everything they needed for a rich and happy life. Even more, these things would be unearned and undeserved, offered only out of God’s love and care. God, who brought the people out of Egypt, would lead them into a life where they could eat their fill, literally and figuratively. … But Moses foresaw that the people would soon think in terms of “my house” and “my vineyard,” without remembering the One who gave those gifts in the first place. They would come to believe that they had achieved these gifts on their own, and to think of themselves as special because of what they had done.

Avoiding such a dangerous perspective shift is difficult. When we need a “refresher course” to help regain a right perspective, we can follow a few basic steps. By looking back to what God has done, we can remind ourselves of who God is and who we are. Once we claim this, we can receive God’s blessing with humble thankfulness and joy. ( from The Present Word Bible Lesson, Fall 2022)

Let’s not forget to remember the goodness of God- where God has brought us from, and where we might have been!

Elizabeth