Remember

Do me a favor will you? I’m going to give you a word and I want you to ponder on that word and really think about how it makes you feel. Ready? Ok! The word is... twenty-twenty. Now, take a moment and really focus on your feelings. Does it make you feel hopeless, sad, confused? Maybe it gives you anxiety, or makes you feel angry. You may even feel as if you don’t deserve to deal with all that you’ve had to deal with this year. Don’t worry you’re not alone. We’ve all felt this way at one time or another. Even the children of Israel dealt with this pain.

In the book of Psalm, book 44, verses 1-8, the sons of Korah (Israelites) are praising God and remembering how He protected their ancestors in every war and battle. They explain how they knew that it was by God’s love and power alone that their ancestors claimed victory over all of their enemies. They go on to say how, just like their ancestors, they depend on God’s power and not their own to defeat every adversary.

But, beginning in verse 9, there’s a shift. They’re no longer praising, but grieving. The Israelites cried out to God in agony as they were being defeated in a war. They didn’t understand what they did to deserve such a defeat. In verses 17-19, they express their confusion of why they were experiencing such a tragedy when they remained faithful to God. They reminded God how they never turned their hearts away and remained true to His covenant. Furthermore, in verses 23-26, they begged God to awake from his sleep and help them, asking why he turned his face against them.

Can you relate to the Israelites’ pain in this moment? The feeling that God has fallen asleep on you while you endure a terrible storm. The feeling that you don’t deserve this because you remained faithful and consistent with him. If so, that’s okay. It’s okay to feel. But it’s important that while we feel, we make sure we continue to press in and seek Him just as the Israelites did. Even in their time of pain they continued to seek God because they knew by his power alone could they win and overcome.

So, how did the Israelites get through such a hardship? What kept them fighting that can help and encourage us to keep fighting? Simple, they remembered. They remembered the stories of how God delivered their ancestors out of the hands of Pharaoh. They remembered that it was not by their ancestors’ weapons and out of their strength that they were able to defeat all that came against them, but it was by God’s power and love (verses 11-8). They knew that for God’s sake, they had to endure (verse 22). Yes, they had questions. No, they didn’t understand. But they never stopped fighting.

In our Christian walk, we’re going to endure some battles that are so tough that we feel as if God is sleeping on us. But trust me, he isn’t. He’s building our faith, he’s strengthening us. We just have to keep fighting. We have to look back on our lives and remember the many ways God made for us before and be confident in knowing that he will do it again, even when our circumstances say otherwise. We serve a faithful God. A God who will never let us fail. A God who never leaves. A God who will give us the victory. So during this tough time, I encourage you, REMEMBER!

- MoniQue Ardoin

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the NSU BCM but are solely those of the author(s).