The Power of Memory: Looking Back to Go Forward

“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.'” [Psalm 77:6-11 NIV]

  Do you know the difference between a lament and a complaint?  A complaint emerges out of a victim mindset, often talking about God being unkind or unfair. There is no forward movement with a complaint.  Instead, the one groaning pitches a tent in a swamp of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment, waiting for someone to come along and fix the situation. Our complaints often emerge from pride, demanding that we escape any suffering.  A lament, however, honestly and humbly expresses grief, suffering, or sadness directly to God, asking Him for comfort and His energy to move forward. When we lament, we cry out with our eyes fixed on Jesus, telling Him the truth of our situation with the expectation that He will help us move from chaos to confidence.  Why this confidence?  God has promised to work all things for good, even when we don’t like our circumstances, would not have chosen them, and are lamenting them.  Jesus also promised to return and do away with all this suffering, a hope that can steady our trembling knees and keep us marching on.

     One of the best strategies to keep us moving forward is to remember what God has already done.  When we look in our rearview mirrors to remember the times God has moved mountains or even pebbles in our lives, we re-fuel our faith.  Why is this?  Since God is unchanging in His love for us, and since His love never fails us, we trust that He loves us now, even if seeing His footprint in our current struggle is so difficult. 

     Psalm 77 is a wonderful template for going back to move forward.  Asaph’s song of remembrance begins with an expectant cry that God is listening (v.1-3). then concludes with God’s rescue (v.19:20).  Asaph moved from tragedy to triumph by first voicing his lament by asking five common questions that we are often afraid to voice when God doesn’t appear to answer prayer (v. 7-9).  Then he chooses to remember God’s deeds (v.10-12). After looking in the rearview mirror, He is able to tell himself that God is still the Great Redeemer (v.13-15). He then sings of God’s power at Sinai and the Red Sea (v. 16-18).  Asaph moves from a humble cry to conclude that God often leads us to safety, but that way may have to be made through a great sea, where God’s footprints are not visible (v. 19).

     There is great power in remembering what God has already done.  Taking time to list the way God has moved in your life is one way to look back in order to move forward. Reviewing that list often and adding to it can add some muscle to your faith, especially when God’s footprints are invisible and chaos is swirling.  We can all put on our lists that Jesus died for us and has redeemed us, already proving His love for us (Romans 5:8). So, remember and keep trusting that God’s love for you is unfailing and He is able to work all this for your good.

Verse for the rear-view mirror: