The Remembering & The Fight

SCRIPTURE:  Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes. Nehemiah 4:14 ESV

QUOTE: “The best way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” – George Orwell

THOUGHT: Alzheimer’s doesn’t just devastate an individual, its cruelty reaches the family and friends as the memories of what connected them to each other fades. Like a nation of Alzheimer’s patients, we’ve become dull toward the things that used to connect us. Our understanding of our own history is being denied and obliterated. The nuclear family is being attacked. The young people of our country are under assault. The institutions that used to protect are suspect. But, unlike Alzheimer’s patients, we still have the ability to do the sacred work of remembering.

Nehemiah is coaching a group of people who have been enslaved away from their homeland for 70 years. And when they come home, their land is in shambles and detractors are waiting to mock and discourage them.

But Nehemiah has the perfect antidote: Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome.

His solution is to do the sacred work of remembering God first, who he is, what he’s done in the past, and his promises for the future. He knows that when you remember God, you will rediscover your own purpose, and your dreams for restoration, and from that will flow the fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.

It’s time to remember. It’s time to fight.

PRAYER: Oh God, there’s a bunch of rubble and a bunch of detractors waiting to mock and discourage. Be our God! Help us remember your greatness and awesomeness, who you are, what you’ve done, and your promises for our future. Then give us dreams and a vision and help us fight for our families and homes.