Gifts of Lent: Remember

Memory is a tricky thing. We tend to assume our memory of any event is indisputable, while doubting the way others remember the same time. A fragrance or tune can transport us to a place and time we thought we’d forgotten. Remembering can be painful or a delightful way to honor our pasts.

But what about remembering as a spiritual practice? I love to think of God’s instructions as invitations — not to diminish His authority, but to see that whatever He asks of us is always for our good. Over and over in Scripture God calls His people to remember. That is one of the main purposes of all the feasts that He commanded. For instance Passover, which Jesus celebrated with His disciples just before facing the cross, is a detailed remembrance of when God rescued His people from Egypt way back in the book of Exodus.

It is beautiful to note that if you search the word remember in the Bible, the first many references are of God remembering. It is used in both an historic account (God remembered Noah and all the wild animals) and as a promise (I will remember My covenant between Me and you). I love this because God is demonstrating the importance and practice of what He then asks us to do!

Psalm 105 is a masterclass in remembering. It starts by exhorting the reader to praise God through singing, telling and remembering all that He has done. Then it proceeds into an history lesson, telling in detail how God has chosen, guided, protected and rescued His people.

One of my favorite “remember passages” is Psalm 63:6-7:

“On my bed I remember You; I think of You through the watches of the night. Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings.”

We all experience times of wakefulness in the night. It can be frustrating or it can be fruitful. We can choose to redeem the time by recounting the goodness of God. Here’s some other verses to prompt your remembering this Lent season:

Psalm 42, 77:10-12, 103:17-19