"The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." Psalm 145:17-18
Bedrock remembrance. This is the foundation by which we live whether we are aware of it or not. We live by what has occured in the past. Throughout Scripture, God reminds us, even commands us to remember Him. He reminds us to remember His character, His faithfulness in the past which holds the promise of His faithfulness in the future. We remember that, "God is unchangeable in His character though His works are unpredictable."
What does this mean for us? It means that God is always righteous. God is always kind. He is righteous and kind in all of His ways and all of His deeds even if we do not understand them. This is the "bedrock of remembrance" that helps us through difficult times. Those of us who cling to Him and belong to His family can take comfort in this.
The "bedrock remembrance" is remembering God's faithfulness throughout the ages and in our lives. It has been said that we can only "live forward, but we learn backward". This applies to our remembering all that God has done for us through the years. We can start with this morning...He caused our hearts to continue to beat and our lungs to function throughout the night. We awaken to a new day with the promise of His new mercy and His never ending lovingkindness. We practice this thankful remembrances with the smallest things as well as the huge ones. There is much to remember and be thankful for and the thankful heart is a heart that is drawn to God.
We can awaken with each new day recalling God's past goodness and anticipate His future activity! Though difficulties and afflictions arise, we remember that "the Lord is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds." I do not suggest making light of very difficult times. I have many friends who are facing, from my perspective, chronic, unbearable difficulties. Even so, the circumstances of our lives does NOT change Who God is...and THIS is what we are to remember. The Lord wants us to thirst after Him not seeking a quick fix to our problems but longing for His life altering refreshment of His portion.
"O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek the earnestly; my soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee; in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1
"As for me, I shall call upon God and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur(cry out my distress) and He will hear my voice...Cast (give) your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (slip and fall)." Psalm 55:16-16, 22 NAS (NLT)
May we long after God as one who is desperately thirsty or ravenously hungry. May we pour out our longings to Him knowing that He is faithful to answer. He hears the voice of those who belong to Him through Christ Jesus. May we give the Lord all our burdens and be yoked with He Who is more than capable to care for us, making our burden light.
"May we long to see the Lord even if it means the light of His presence is best seen against the veil of darkness." Priscilla Shirer
We must will ourselves to turn our attention to what God is doing in the midst of the driest season(s) of our lives...and choose to remember His goodness, His kindness, His faithfulness...even in the midst of pain, disillusionment, and sorrow.
"And my God shall supply your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
God is unchanging. He was faithful in the past, He is faithful now and He will be faithful. He is the God Who Was, Who Is, and Who is to Come! Scriptures proclaim God's work. Our lives proclaim His faithfulness. How awesome to realize that God supplies our needs and this is according to His riches in glory! And since God is Creator and therefore Owner of everything, this is an amazing promise. One we can put in our "bedrock of remembrance" for difficult times.
I would like to leave you this time with the following Scripture from the New Living Translation-
"Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong... May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to fully understand." Ephesians 3:17 &19
