Remember the Deeds

I cried out to God for help;
    I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
    at night I stretched out untiring hands,
    and I would not be comforted.

3 I remembered you, God, and I groaned;
    I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.
4 You kept my eyes from closing;
    I was too troubled to speak.
5 I thought about the former days,
    the years of long ago;
6 I remembered my songs in the night.
    My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

7 “Will the Lord reject forever?
    Will he never show his favor again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
    Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
    Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”

10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
    the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all your works
    and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

13 Your ways, God, are holy.
    What god is as great as our God?
14 You are the God who performs miracles;
    you display your power among the peoples.
15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

16 The waters saw you, God,
    the waters saw you and writhed;
    the very depths were convulsed.
17 The clouds poured down water,

    the heavens resounded with thunder;
    your arrows flashed back and forth.
18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
    your lightning lit up the world;
    the earth trembled and quaked.
19 Your path led through the sea,
    your way through the mighty waters,
    though your footprints were not seen.

20 You led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

                                                                   -PSALM 77 (NIV) 

I read this chapter of Psalms this week, and I realized how much I like it. The author starts off in a dark place, wondering why God isn't answering, wondering if He would never show His favor again (v. 7), wondering if He had forgotten to be merciful (v. 9), and on the author goes, questioning the Lord's character. 

Then about halfway through the Psalm, a change happens, and the perspective shifts. Instead of continuing to ask questions about God's character (and if it has changed or not), the author begins to remember the "deeds of the Lord," (verse 11). 

The author remembers that God's ways are "holy," (v. 13), and that He is "the God who performs miracles," (v. 14). He remembers that God, with His mighty arm, redeemed the descendants of Jacob and Joseph (v. 15). The author continues on, remembering God's power over all creation (v. 16-19). 

The part of this Psalm that sticks out to me the most is the shift from negativity to positivity, the shift from questioning God's character to praising Him through remembering His deeds. 

"Remembering frames up gratitude," writes Ann Voskamp in One Thousand Gifts. When we remember God's faithfulness and His deeds, we are shifting our focus off of our worries and anxieties and onto His caring love and kindness. "Is that why the Israelites kept recounting their past--to trust God for their future? Remembering is an act of thanksgiving, a way of thanksgiving, this turn of the heart over time's shoulder to see all the long way His arms have carried," (Voskamp, 152). 

"Remembering is an act of thanksgiving." 

I love that. When the author of Psalm 77 stopped his questioning and started remembering, he was shifting to gratitude. 

Gratitude changes everything. It changes your perspective, it changes your attitude, and it changes you. When we choose to remember the Lord's deeds of the past, His faithfulness, and His love, we are choosing to give thanks. 

"'Gratitude is the memory of the heart,' writes Jean Baptiste Massieu, but gratitude is not only the memories of our heart; gratitude is a memory of God's heart and to thank is to remember God... In memory, the shape of God's yesterday-heart emerges and assures of God's now-heart and reassures of His sure beat tomorrow," (Voskamp 152). 

Remembering God's goodness and faithfulness to us through our yesterdays helps us to remember that He is trustworthy and good today. And if we could trust His heart yesterday, and if we can trust Him today, then we can definitely trust Him tomorrow as well. Even through the storms, even through the dark times, He will be there, just like He was yesterday and every day prior. 

Like the Psalmist, will you choose to "remember the deeds of the LORD," (v. 11) today, and every day? I want to strive to do so each day, knowing that remembering His faithfulness is an act of thanksgiving. 

Choose to give thanks today. 

...to be a testimony

Yesterday I had the privilege of talking on the phone with a 93 year old Christian woman. What a humbling experience, and what a blessing!

My great-grandpa lived to be 92 years old, so any time I meet someone or talk with someone who is in their 90's I immediately think of my Grandpa Rudy, and my heart is touched. Yesterday was no exception.

I had the opportunity to ask this sweet lady if she had any prayer requests. Her answer astounded me!

Expecting an answer regarding her health, instead she asked for prayer that she would continue to be a testimony to those around her.

Ninety-three years old, asking for prayer that she would continue to be a testimony for Christ.

Not complaining about her age, or the way it limits her.

Not grumbling about aches and pains, of which I am sure she has many.

She could have asked for prayer for anything, but she asked that she would continue to live in a way that is a testimony to those around her.

I hung up the phone yesterday, convicted and blessed.

Convicted, because I know how often my focus is on my own struggles, my own pain, my own little world, instead of focusing on Christ and how I can be living as a light for Him.

Blessed, because what a gift it was to have that short conversation. What a gift to be reminded by her, unintentionally, that this life I live is not my own, but that I am here to be a testimony of God's grace, forgiveness, and love to those around me.

Since hanging up the phone, I haven't been able to get that conversation out of my head... because that's what I want.

I want that to be my prayer, too.

Not concerned with my own little world, my aches and pains, but concerned with how I can be a testimony to those around me.

It scares me, because I know that praying that sincerely means that God will lead me out of my comport zone. It won't always be fun, and it won't always feel safe, and sometimes it will hurt. But I know and believe with all my heart that it will be worth it, because Christ is enough and He is worth it.

Ninety-three years old, and her prayer request is to be a testimony to those around her.

Today, I'm joining her, praying that my life would be a testimony to those around me of God's grace, His unfailing love, His forgiveness, and His great faithfulness.

Will it be your prayer, too?