The last few weeks Bay and I have been staying down in Phoenix. We’ve found in the middle of winter, it is much easier to fly in and out of the Valley of the Sun (duh!), than to attempt to get out of Durango, or Denver for that matter. Phoenix is filled with memories, just as the little town in Oregon where I grew up. Every time we drive somewhere, this event or that particular opportunity fills my mind. Sometimes, mentally reliving the past makes me sad. Example: just yesterday I drove past the McDonald’s where I spent numerous Tuesday, and sometimes, Thursday nights with one of my little grandson’s while his mama taught night classes. It was part of our routine. As soon as he got to our house, we’d hop in the car and go to “Donald’s.” Of course, it wasn’t because the dining was extraordinary, they just happened to have a marvelous play area. He’d play; I’d watch and read, alternately. Did I mention, we did this A LOT! The memories of his little-boy-cuteness made me smile. Then I got sad – I miss those special times with him. We don’t get them quite like that anymore (although we are making new memories). So, the pros and cons of that kind of nostalgia have been working their way through my mind. Here’s where I’ve settled:
I used to think focusing on the past dangerously drew us toward depression, now I know we need “remembering” in order to rest fully in the Sovereignty of God.
There’s more. As I rest, I fully Sabbath. As I fully Sabbath, I find joy.
However, I’m focusing this morning on the first statement, which is true, by the way (and, while I still think that focusing too much on the past can nostalgically put us into a place for depression to do its work), I now understand the importance of remembering. Besides, it’s mandated as a part of Sabbath. If Sabbath has a Golden Rule to rest, Sabbath also has a secondary rule to remember.
The book of Deuteronomy repeats God’s great commandments. But there is a difference four verses into the passage:
“You shall remember (emphasis mine) that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day (5:15).”
This mandate of remembering is not contradicting the apostle, Paul’s words, that say this:
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13b-14).”
Some things we remember will simply bog us down – they may be good things; or, they may be tragic. Yet, they are those things which, for lack of a better word, stifle us. Like quicksand, they cause us to be stuck and swallowed up. That’s the kind of remembering Paul warns about. What the Lord wants is for us to remember HIM in our past. Where has He been the hero of our stories? How has He rescued us? Where has He proven faithful? What has He done in our lives that only He could have done? How did we make it through the tough-stuff because He had to have been involved? Where has God been, well, God in the middle of my story, even when I may not have seen Him there at the moment?
I need to remember my history with God, so I can walk boldly into my future without fear!
That is the BIG IDEA of Sabbath remembering. I remember with hope! Maybe that’s also why God instructed Moses in this way:
“Write this (the story of the mighty Amalekite army being overcome by the minuscule Israelite warriors) on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it…(Exodus 17:14).”
Make sure Joshua hears it! Write it down for him. Oh, how we need each other’s stories. How we need to REMEMBER the faithfulness of God, in order to boldly walk forward into tomorrow. I’m challenged. Keep remembering. Keep telling. Keep writing. Keep on…it’s the key to HOPE!