Remember What God Has Done

The tendency to forget God's faithfulness is as old as humanity itself. Today we'll explore why God commands His people to remember, and how remembrance transforms our present faithfulness.

Leviticus 23:43 "So your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God."

God commanded His people to build temporary shelters during the Feast of Tabernacles for one simple reason: so they would remember. For seven days every year, they were to live in these makeshift booths, eat under branches, and recall how God had delivered them from Egypt and sustained them in the wilderness.

But here's what gets me—even with all these commanded festivals, all these memorials, all these repeated instructions to "remember," the people of God were continually prone to forget. In the Old Testament, the Minor Prophets used a specific word to describe what happened when God's people forgot: whoredom. They went after other gods. Their allegiances were divided. Their loyalty was mixed.

This is why the commands to remember are replete throughout Scripture. Deuteronomy 5:15: "Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt." Deuteronomy 8:2: "Remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you." First Chronicles 16:12: "Remember the wondrous works that he has done."

Over and over and over again, God is telling His people: don't forget what I've done. Don't just go on with your life. You are to remember the faithfulness and kindness of God.

Look what happens when they finally do remember. In Nehemiah 8, after returning from exile, the people gather as one man and cry out for Ezra to read them the Word of God. This is a bottom-up initiative—they're not having truth crammed down their throats. They recognize they went wayward because they forgot the ways and Word of God. That's a mark of true repentance: we want the Word of God, and we want it now.

When they rediscover the Feast of Tabernacles in Scripture, verse 17 says they celebrated it like they hadn't since the days of Joshua—and there was great rejoicing. Then they begin to pray corporately, recounting God's faithfulness: "You alone are Yahweh. You made the heavens. You divided the sea. You provided bread from heaven. You gave them water from the rock."

Can I tell you something? The degree to which you remember what God has done in the past is the degree to which you're going to be faithful in the present. When you forget God's provision, you start looking elsewhere for security. When you forget His deliverance, you start making compromises to avoid hardship. When you forget His love, you start questioning His goodness in trials.

But when you remember—when you actively, intentionally call to mind His past faithfulness—it transforms your present trust. You realize the same God who provided manna in the wilderness will provide for your needs today. The same God who brought His people out of Egypt can deliver you from whatever bondage you're facing.

This is why we observe communion regularly—it's a commanded remembrance. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me." Not because God has a bad memory, but because we do. We need to be reminded of the cross, of His sacrifice, of His love poured out for us.

What has God done in your life that you've forgotten? What deliverances, what provisions, what answered prayers have faded from your memory? The enemy wants you to forget because forgotten mercies lead to present unfaithfulness. But God wants you to remember because remembered grace fuels present trust.

Stay dialed in.