Then God remembered Noah and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. (Genesis 8:1) Did God forget Noah? They were on that ark a long time. I’m sure it wasn’t pleasant and the smell surely got worse by the day. In Exodus 2:24 it says, “God heard the groaning of Israel and remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and God looked upon the children of Israel and acknowledged them.” These are hard sayings. Jewish scholars have spent untold hours discussing this concept of remembering. The word “Zakar” means remembered. It means to recount, or be mindful of. In all this there is testing. I hate it and stink at it. And I am going through it again. God has yet to say, “Well Ed hates this so let’s speed things up.” Most of us have a tendency to overlook Deuteronomy 8:11-20. Moses talks of the dangers of forgetting that God is the source of all of His blessings in our lives. It’s easy to get caught up in the things of our lives and not realize His blessings in our life. We so easily follow things that are either contrary to Him or that are just a pale comparison to His blessings.
Sarah was barren 25 years and then God remembered His promise and she bore a son, Isaac, to Abraham when he was 100 years old. After 14 years Rachel finally gave birth to Joseph. According to the Midrash, Hannah was barren 19 years when God remembered her and she gave birth to Samuel. The Rabbis cite Proverbs 27:21 which states, “For silver–the crucible, for gold–the furnace. And a man is tested by his praise.” In the midst of these trials of waiting there is silver and gold being produced that cannot be of the same value when the time is shortened or rushed. There can be a special wine that comes from this extended process. Some of the best wine comes when even water is withheld.
David was so open as to his feelings when God seemed to abandon him. In Psalm 13 he says, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Can you imagine how Joseph felt during his captivity and trials? Psalm 105 says of Joseph, he was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with shackles, his neck was put in iron, until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. David’s prophetic writing in Psalm 22 were words also spoken of by Jesus on the cross. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” Jesus identified with all our trials. Yet we can still feel isolated and disconsolate no matter how many examples of seemingly being forgotten we can find in scripture. Elijah provides an excellent and fitting example in 1 Kings 19. He has just defeated the prophets of Baal and proved to be a mighty prophet of the Lord, yet evil was allowed to attack him through Jezebel and cause Elijah to flee. Elijah was tired. Afraid for his life. He prayed that he would die. Yet the Lord sent an angel to provide sustenance and give him direction. Elijah got into self-pity. He felt he was the only one left fighting this battle against evil, yet the Lord told him He had reserved 7000 who had not bowed their knee to Baal that serve the Lord. The Lord then showed great signs to Elijah in the form of a mighty wind, earthquake and fire. And after the fire, a still small voice. We so easily allow that voice to get drowned out when we listen only to the sounds that accompanies our trials.
We see fatigue and abandonment displayed by Paul with all his trials when he writes in 2 Timothy 4 of being abandoned by Demas and harmed by Alexander the coppersmith. In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul gives a list of all the suffering he has gone through to defend his call of apostle when treated poorly by the Corinthian congregation. The apostle Peter, who had denied Christ, said in 1 Peter 4:13 to “rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may be glad with exceeding joy.” It’s quite difficult to walk in a way that He is always before our eyes. In hardship, suffering, or deafening silence that may seem never ending. We have been taught a gospel that so often speaks to reward and riches. Just call on Him and he’ll be there. Like a Four Tops song or rubbing a magic lamp. But can we, like in the Matt Redman song, bless Him in the sufferings? It’s hard. After going through so many health issues and doing my best to persevere, I was told 7 years ago that I needed a second by-pass surgery. No matter what I did to keep myself fit in body, mind and spirit I was at this place I hated again. I prayed He would take me. I felt done. He didn’t. Since then I’ve tried to concentrate on the writing I was supposed to be doing and had not, but now I am. There is a place when you’ve come and gone through many battles, and you just remain quiet. This is a place where you hear differently. It’s as if you lean on your staff overlooking what may still lie ahead and wonder if you’ll see it. For the discerning person, there is a measured countenance with those before and after trials. Yet I still say the words in my time and prayer with the Lord, “remember me.” We assess by our finite mind. Our God forgets nothing and knows the beginning from the end of all things. The measure of our days. I speak to myself and to all of us, “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14) Blessings.
Stand My Watch 