The Benefits of Remembering

In The Word

Read: Isaiah 63:7-64:12

God’s Ancient Mercies Recalled

I shall make mention of the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, the praises of the Lord,
According to all that the Lord has granted us,
And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has granted them according to His compassion
And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses.
For He said, “Surely, they are My people,
Sons who will not deal falsely.”
So He became their Savior.
In all their affliction He was afflicted,
And the angel of His presence saved them;
In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them,
And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.
10 But they rebelled
And grieved His Holy Spirit;
Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy,
He fought against them.
11 Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses.
Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock?
Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them,
12 Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses,
Who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name,
13 Who led them through the depths?
Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble;
14 As the cattle which go down into the valley,
The Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
So You led Your people,
To make for Yourself a glorious name.

“You Are Our Father”

15 Look down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious habitation;
Where are Your zeal and Your mighty deeds?
The stirrings of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained toward me.
16 For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us
And Israel does not recognize us.
You, O Lord, are our Father,
Our Redeemer from of old is Your name.
17 Why, O Lord, do You cause us to stray from Your ways
And harden our heart from fearing You?
Return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.
18 Your holy people possessed Your sanctuary for a little while,
Our adversaries have trodden it down.
19 We have become like those over whom You have never ruled,
Like those who were not called by Your name.

Prayer for Mercy and Help

64 Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down,
That the mountains might quake at Your presence—
As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
When You did awesome things which we did not expect,
You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.
For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.
You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
Behold, You were angry, for we sinned,
We continued in them a long time;
And shall we be saved?
For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
There is no one who calls on Your name,
Who arouses himself to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us
And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.

But now, O Lord, You are our Father,
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all of us are the work of Your hand.
Do not be angry beyond measure, O Lord,
Nor remember iniquity forever;
Behold, look now, all of us are Your people.
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful house,
Where our fathers praised You,
Has been burned by fire;
And all our precious things have become a ruin.
12 Will You restrain Yourself at these things, O Lord?
Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation


Walking In The Word

The prophet Isaiah wrote down the memories of things he saw in his lifetime. He recalled how Israel often rebelled against God and faced the terrible consequences. Isaiah remembered how God heard their cries for help and how He answered by forgiving and rescuing them. Isaiah even asked God to remember His loyal love and faithfulness so that He will help His people once again.

Our memories can serve a useful purpose if we allow them to. First, the painful memories that come from past mistakes help us to remember that poor choices lead to negative consequences. God hopes that the memory of the undesirable outcomes will keep us from repeating the sinful actions. While He has freed us from the guilt of our mistakes, He gave us a memory so that we can learn our lesson.

Second, our memories are beneficial when we remember what God has done for us: He forgave our past sins, He gave us the power to sin no more, and He helped us when we faced difficult situations. The memories of these precious gifts are important if we find ourselves in a tough place and need help; we can recall the memories of how God helped us before and believe that He is there to help us again.

Let us never forget our past so that we do not repeat our mistakes, and may we never forget that our Mighty God is always there to help us. Thank God for His love and faithfulness!

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