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Have you ever noticed how many times the Bible uses the word remember? ((A quick search in the YouVersion Bible app comes up with 233 times.)) Some are calls of ours to God for Him to remember us. One example is the criminal who hung next to Jesus at his crucifixion. The criminal confesses a belief in God and said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom". Jesus responded by saying..."you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:42-43) Oh how sweet those words are to me, a girl who always longs to be known and remembered! God remembers. In Psalm 106, He sees the distress and hears the cry of man. God remembered His covenant and "relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love." (Verse 44) As He remembers us, He also commands that we remember Him. In the Psalms we are told to remember His covenant with us and His wonderful works (Psalm 105). In the Old Testament we see God command the Israelites over and over to remember how they were once slaves but are now set free (Deuteronomy 15:15). But it is not just a thing for those during the Old Testament times. We are still to remember too! Jesus says He gave us the Holy Spirit, the Helper, to bring to our remembrance all the things He has said to us. (John 14:26) ((How sweet that He knows I need help remembering everything!)) And in all of this remembering, there is one thing God says He will NOT remember. Can you guess what it is? Our sin. He will not remember it. He will never think of it again--because of Jesus.
"And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins."
Hebrews 8:12
"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins"
Isaiah 43:25
So on this Wednesday when I'm tempted to rush ahead excitedly towards long summer days, time at the beach, reading on my patio, and family vacation, I want to stop. And remember. Remember how sweet it is that I can pray and seek God to remember His promises. Remember how sweet it is that God sees me, hears me, knows me, and will remember me. And remember the greatest gift I've been given...the forgiveness of my sins. No more shame. No more guilt. No more condemnation.
