Remembering The Lord

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Isa. 26:3). What a glorious promise this is, to be kept in "perfect peace.” And the condition of the promise is not anything that is hard to be understood, but yet many fail this condition for lack of diligence and vigilance. The new testament scriptures plainly state that the old testament scriptures were written for our learning, that we might not fail after the same example as the children of Israel, who managed to NOT keep their minds on the Lord (Rom. 15:4; I Cor. 10:11; Heb. 4:11). "They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law; And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them" (Psm. 78:10,11). And what were the works of the Lord that Israel quickly forgot? “Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap. In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire. He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers" (Psm. 78:12-16). So then what was the result of their forgetting the greatness of God’s love and power that delivered them from bondage in Egypt? "And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness. And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust. Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” (Psm. 78:17-19) That is correct friend, the result was that they “sinned yet more against [God].” And that is the result of not staying in active remembrance of the wonderful works of God for us. It is extremely important to stay continually in remembrance of what God has already done for us, because we are going to be needing him to do more in like manner.

We all have problems and we all run into obstacles in life, and God can be trusted to deliver us and make a way for us, because he has done it BEFORE. We are called to be a tried and proven people, but we cannot prove our faith to the Lord if we allow the problems and obstacles to have dominion in our minds, rather than the remembrance of how he has always been there for us to take us through it all. David knew that his only hope was in God, and he knew God would be there for him in time of need, because he always remembered what the Lord had done for him before: “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" (Psm. 77:10,11). The apostle Paul exhorted the Hebrews to remember the works of the Lord for them: "But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions" (Heb. 10:32). And why did he issue this exhortation? "Cast not away therefore your confidence [faith], which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience [endurance], that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise" (Heb. 10:35,36). So then we need to keep the Lord’s former works in our lives in remembrance if we expect to "endure till the end, [and] be saved" (Mk. 13:13). How so? "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be DILIGENT that ye may be found of him in PEACE, without spot, and blameless" (II Pet. 3:13,14). Friends, that brings us full circle here, and the truth is we just can’t keep our minds anxiously and apprehensively on our problems or projected problems, and have our minds on the mighty things that God has done for us at the same time (Mat. 6:31-34). And we can’t trust God and have peace unless we diligently keep our minds stayed on [him]. Amen.