Remember When

The word “remember” is one that appears often in the Bible. If you look at Psalm 77, for example, you will find a form of the word five times.

“I remembered God, and was troubled.”—Vs. 3.

“I call to remembrance my song in the night.”—Vs. 6.

“And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

“I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.”—Vss. 10,11.

In each case, it has to do with recalling something from the past. So often in our day-to-day conversations we will describe an event from the past. Then someone else relives another story and we all remember it well and can add to it a few details.

These are about real-life experiences which are tucked away in our memories. Some of them are delightfully precious and others are distinctively painful.

When I bring to mind our Christian heritage, our American heritage and our family heritage, I have so much that I love to remember.

When our family gets together, “remember when” frequently be comes a subject of conversation. We especially like to recall the funny things that have happened through the years, as well as some of the life-changing experiences. Our children want to relive it and they want their children to hear it told again.

We like to recall the example of godliness and dedication that was demonstrated by our parents and grandparents. I remember the hours of singing with my grandparents and other relatives. I thank God for their example of dedication and commitment to godly living. Their biblical standards live on in my memory.

The song “Remind Me, Dear Lord” says,

Roll back the curtain of memory now and then;

Show me where You brought me from and where I could have been.

Remember I’m human and humans forget;

So remind me, remind me, dear Lord. —Dottie Rambo

Deuteronomy 8:11 says,

“Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments,and his judgments, and his statutes.”

If “remember when” causes you to rehearse something which is a sinful thing from your past, you must quickly and continually draw from the well of God’s grace, His mercy and His goodness.

As you look to Him, the assurance of forgiveness and the opportunity for a second chance should bring comfort and peace rather than ongoing hurt or bitterness.

Some things that we forget are insignificant, but we must be alert and guard against forgetting God. His commands and His goodness to us should not be a distant memory, but they should be fresh on our minds.

One of the verses about remembering which has blessed me is Ecclesiastes 12:1.

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not,

nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.”

An early start in following the Lord will help us avoid the anguish and regrets of living a life of sin. Life has its naturally negative effects of physical decline and sickness, but let’s not add to that the remorse and consequences of a life apart from God.

Christians need to set up “memorial stones” so that our children will ask us, “What mean these stones?” (Josh. 4:21), as the leaders of Israel were told to do by Joshua at the crossing of the Jordan. “That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?” (vs. 6).

The younger ones had no memory of them, but the older crowd surely did. It was important for the younger ones to benefit from the memory of the older ones.

They “remembered when” and it was good for them and the younger, upcoming generation.

May I suggest now a few things for us to “remember.”

*Let’s remember from whence we are fallen and repent.

*Let’s remember God and His marvelous works.

*Let’s remember His commandments to do them.

*Let’s remember the Lord’s Day to keep it holy.

*Let’s remember the years of the Most High God.

*Let’s remember the sacrifice of Christ.

*Let’s remember the Word of the Lord and take heed lest we forget!

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”—Ps. 103:2.

It is sad to see in our nation the tearing down of monuments of remembrance and the disdain for heroes of valor. Even the celebration of Christian holidays is under attack.

“Remembering” helps us establish proper values and set our standards in line with biblical principles. Let’s relive the messages of the Bible again and again, showing reverence for a holy God and passing it on to others.

So let’s “remember when.” Let’s “remember what.”

Let’s “remember where.” And let’s “remember why.”

Or, from the flip side of the coin, let’s “not forget”

the good things, the important things and the blessed things.