Shades of remembering

Noah Leaving the Ark - from Religion in the Home (Part 1)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 8:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "Then God remembered Noah and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark." Genesis 8:1

Though Bible passages like Psalm 139 assure us that God doesn't ever forget us (Psalm 139:1-4,7), it sometimes feels like He does. Perhaps that's how Noah felt during those long uncertain months in the ark.

The Dictionary of Bible Themes (access through Biblegateway.com) reminds us that God always remembers:

• His covenant - Psalm 105:8
• His promises - Psalm 105:42.
• His people - Isaiah 49:15-16.

But He doesn't remember:

• Our sins  and lawless deeds - Hebrews 8:12.
• The old creation after He has created the new - Isaiah 65:17.

Perhaps a more important question for us to ask ourselves is, do we remember Him? We are to remember:

• God's person - Psalm 42:5-6.
• God's acts from the past - Isaiah 46:9.
• His wrath - Deuteronomy 8:18 (and 2 Peter 3:1-10 where Peter refers to the flood).
• God's commands - Psalm 103:17,18.
• Our responsibilities toward each other and especially towards the poor - Acts 20:35; Galatians 2:10; Hebrews 13:2-3.
• The death of Jesus - 1 Corinthians 11:24-28.

These remembrances are important because they lead to:

• Joy and singing - Psalm 13:5,6.
• Sorrow for sin and repentance - Matthew 5:23,24
• Understanding - Luke 24:6-8; John 15:20; 16:1-4; Acts 11:15-18.
• Hope for the future - Lamentations 3:21-24.

When it feels like God has forgotten us, let's remind ourselves, He hasn't. He is just as aware of us as He was of Noah during all those months in the ark. In the meantime, let's not forget Him.

PRAYER: Dear God help me to trust You are aware of me and my circumstances all the time—even when You are silent and feel absent. Amen.

MORE: The Silence of God - Andrew Peterson.

In this beautiful song, Andrew Peterson reminds us that even Jesus experienced the silence of God:

"And the Man of all sorrows, He never forgot
What sorrow is carried in the hearts that He bought.
So when questions may remain, the breaking does not ...
In the holy lonesome echo of the silence of God" - from "The Silence of God" by Andrew Peterson. 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.