You have said, “I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.” (Genesis 32:12)
Is it right to remind our Redeemer of anything? Does He not know all things and remember all things too? To be sure, God is omniscient, so He does know all things and remember all things, therefore the idea of “reminding” God may seem strange . . . perhaps even sinful. Yet Scripture reveals that we have God’s permission to remind Him of His promises—not to jog His memory, but to strengthen ours. Jacob did just that when he was about to encounter his brother Esau for the first time since Jacob had deceived their father Isaac and wronged Esau. Esau had determined to kill Jacob (Genesis 27:41), and Jacob feared for his life and the lives of his family. So Jacob, in all meekness humility, reminded God of His promise of blessing.
You and I are to do the same whenever we are facing adversity. Reflect on any promise that God has given you and lay hold of it with a humble heart. What is there to fear from angry “Esaus” who come up against you when your God is absolutely and completely for you and has promised to do you good? Notice the word “surely” in today’s verse. I take it as a guarantee from our God. In other words, we can be absolutely certain that God will make good on His promises to us. Our good God has promised to work all things for our good, regardless of what comes up against us. And “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
So regardless of what you are up against today, when you take a moment to remind your Redeemer of the promises He has made to you, your faith is strengthened and your hope is renewed. Remember, God’s Word is not for the benefit of God; it is given for our benefit. The better we know it, the better we will be able to recall it, and remind our Redeemer of His promises to do us good. God wants us to come to Him and present our requests and desires to Him. Not only that, He has given us permission to open our prayer with “You have said . . .” knowing that this reminder is for us and not God, that we might be strengthened in knowing that He who has promised can be trusted to make good on every promise He has uttered.
Let me encourage you today to get in the habit of reminding your Redeemer when you are on your knees before the throne of grace. Is there anything in particular that you need to remind your Redeemer (but actually remind yourself) that He has promised? I assure you that this will keep you from ever forgetting that your God is a covenant-keeping God who has promised ultimate good to you as you make your way into glory.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 