This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:21-23 ESV)
Memory has a way of messing with our lives. By nature, we have a tendency to remember more clearly all the burdens of life rather than the blessings. We remember in far greater detail all the stuff that didn’t work out rather than all that did. And, of course, the devil delights in assisting us in this downward spiral. Satan wants us to remember all the “bad” times and all our failures, and to forget all the blessings and the glorious victory won for us by Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah was quick to remember all his afflictions and wanderings and the bitterness and gall; when he did, his soul was downcast. Oh, how the devil delighted in that! But Satan’s ungodly glee didn’t last long, because Jeremiah refused to stay down. He lifted his thoughts to the throne room of heaven and called to mind the great love of his great God.
Can the same be said about you today? Is this the confession of your life? Or perhaps you’re like so many of us, who by nature not only call to remembrance the dark days of our past, but sharpen our focus on the darkness of the present. Can I get a witness?
There is a better way forward for you and me today, thanks to the call to mind that ministers. When the sky turns dark and the waves of challenge wash over you, remember the Lord’s great love for you. You are so loved that your God purchased you with the precious blood of His beloved Son. No price was too great for God to pay in order to redeem you from your bondage to sin and death and bring you into relationship with Him. And as if that isn’t enough, there is unending compassion rooted in His love for you that brings a comfort that defies description.
To be sure, each one of us has a past littered with the ashes of defeat. But our gracious, loving heavenly Father has promised His adopted children that He will—
Bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
And a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. (Isaiah 61:3)
One great promise after another has been given to you, Christian, but it is your responsibility to call them to mind. No matter how dark the days became for the prophet Jeremiah, he would shift his focus away from gloom and fix it on his God, and that opened the doorway leading to hope. We must be intentional about what we choose to call to mind. We cannot allow the evil one to ruin our recollection.
So . . . what have you been calling to mind lately? The way forward is to remember the Lord’s great love for you. And never forget that His love and mercy was poured out upon you while you were still a sinner and at enmity with the God who refused to wait for you to get “cleaned up” and come to Him . . . He ran to you with outstretched arms and embraced you for all eternity!
As you rest in your redemption, let your mind be filled with memorials of the mercies that God has poured out upon you—mercies that are new every morning.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 