Sacred Remembering

SCRIPTURE: The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. Exodus 15:2 ESV

THOUGHT: Remembering is truly a sacred task. It’s a task of faith that leads to joy and confidence for tomorrow. Look what God has done already, we say as we look back, I’m excited to see how he handles this!

I have a friend who is putting together a 25^th anniversary celebration for his company. He is stopping a lot that he could be doing (like sleeping maybe?) in order to remember the milestones himself, remember how God has shown up throughout the years, and throw a celebration for his employees, friends and even some clients that will likely be talked about for the next 25 years. It’s not a party for the sake of partying, it’s a party for the sake of remembering, complete with a time capsule, a book with historic and narrative content, a video featuring long-time friends and staff, and a lot more.

Part of his purpose is remembering in order to prepare for the future. That’s called anamnesis, a Greek word that has to do with pulling the past into the future as a way of re-living, as fully as possible, what happened. It’s the faith journey of the children of God as they look back again and again to celebrate walking away from slavery without a revolution, walking across a sea on dry ground, manna from heaven, and water from a rock.

Remembering builds faith. Faith leads to praise. God is worthy of both.

PRAYER: Oh God, you are my strength and my song, and you have been my salvation, my deliverance from everything that enslaved me, from high waters, from hunger and thirst; you are my God, and I will praise you, my father’s God, and I will exalt you. I will remember and grow my faith for the future.