Devotion by Pastor Jeremy Choy
The end of the year and the beginning of the following year is usually a season of gathering, travelling, and merry-making. There is much for us to celebrate, from the lifting of COVID restrictions, being able to travel again, Christmas, New Year, and the Lunar New Year! As believers, while we commit our plans for the new year to the Lord, I want to also encourage you to put God in remembrance as part of our year-end and new year reflections.
Ps 77:11-13
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
The word “remember” in this passage in the Hebrew language is Zakar. It means to remember, to recall, to call to mind, to be mindful or to bring to remembrance. All throughout the Bible, we are commanded to put God in remembrance!
In the book of Exodus, we see the Israelites delivered from the slavery of Egypt, brought through the Red Sea to escape from the Egyptian army—all in the span of a few days. And rather immediately, they began grumbling about not having water to drink and food to eat (Exo 15:22-25, Exo 16:1-3)! They were so preoccupied with their current state of thirst and hunger that they did not even remember they had just experienced one of the greatest miracles of deliverance in the history of humanity!
Before we point a finger and accuse them of being an ungrateful bunch of people, let’s stop to think, “are we the same?” Often, because of the busyness of life, the urgency of the moment and the need to tend to daily demands, I find myself guilty of complaining and murmuring to God! I realise that I, too, suffer from “spiritual amnesia”. Many times, I have left God out of the picture and depended on my strength and resources. This has often left me emotionally exhausted and defeated.
To draw near to God, we simply need to remember Him—and we need to do this intentionally. By putting God in remembrance, our prayer and worship quality will significantly improve, as will our sense of gratitude and spiritual intimacy! We are called to enter His gates with thanksgiving!
What must we remember about God?
- REMEMBER WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR YOU IN THE YEAR
God told the Children of Israel in Deut. 5:15,
15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm …
Make it a point to list down what God has done for you in the year. Looking through our calendar from January to December, we can write down various breakthroughs and victories in the Lord, no matter how small they may seem. Even if we cannot remember anything, remember how the Lord saved us and cleansed us. This is something I often do—remind myself about God’s salvation in my life. God saved me from a life of mediocrity when I became born again as a teenager. Before I knew the Lord, I was lost and directionless, without a purpose in life. I was easily influenced by my friends, following in their ways. If they spewed profanities, I did the same; if they watched , I’d join them. As a result, I was insecure, timid, and always seeking a sense of belonging. When Jesus came into my life, the most significant change I felt was the sense of destiny. My life was filled with a sense of purpose I never had before. God took me out of darkness and placed me into His kingdom of light. If not for the Lord, I would be living a selfish, self-centred life in darkness, a purposeless life with no hope. Now, I live each day with the privilege of partnering with God for His kingdom purposes! Praise the Lord!
- REMEMBER WHAT GOD IS DOING IN YOU
When we go through challenging and difficult seasons, we often wrongly deduce that God is far, distant and absent. We ask, “God, where are You? Have You forsaken me? Are You punishing me? When we are suffering, our primary focus is to be relieved of our pain. We want God to take away the misery immediately. We long for God to resolve all our problems instantly with His “magical wand”.
Yet in the wilderness, God made His purpose clear in Deuteronomy 8:2:
2 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
When you’re going through a hard time, be mindful that God’s purpose is greater than your problems. Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome who were suffering for their faith and whose lives were in danger. Many were persecuted and some had been stoned. If I were in their predicament, I would naturally feel despair, hopelessness and discouragement. I might even think of leaving the faith. Yet in addressing the suffering Christians in Rome, Paul encouraged them with the well-known passage found in Romans 8:28-30:
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Paul reminds the Christians that God is changing them to become more Christlike, working in them for His glorification! Remember that God is constantly working in us for our eternal good to make us more like Jesus! In such times, it would be meaningful to share our struggles with fellow Christians to encourage and uphold one another. Remind one another that God is working behind the scenes for our eternal good. When we can get a glimpse of the bigger picture of what God is doing in our lives, we will have greater clarity of God’s purpose for our lives and we will be used by God to make a difference. God can use all things in our lives, the good, the bad and the ugly, to accomplish His plans for you and me!
- REMEMBER WHAT GOD WILL BE DOING FOR YOU
For us who are “in Christ”, the best is always yet to be! The term “the best is yet to be” seems very cliché to many, but it is always true for us.
1 Cor 2:9
9“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
This verse gives me great encouragement to look forward to a better year, no matter how uncertain or bleak things may seem. God says that He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deu 31:8). You may be feeling very alone right now, but you are not ― God is with you. God cares about what you’re going through and He is with you through that situation.
Eph 3:20
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.
There is a story in my life that I do not readily share. Perhaps it is the shame and regret that I’ve felt. But this is a story about God’s faithfulness and goodness in my life. Before I entered full-time service to the Lord in 2005, I worked in the corporate world. I was introduced to the world of stocks and shares, and I started trading. The feeling of making profits was intoxicating. I continued trading even after I entered full-time ministry.
When the 2008 Asian Financial crisis hit, I was too inexperienced to quickly pull out of the market. Before I knew it, I had tanked 90% of my hard earn savings in the stock market. This loss really shook me! I became angry with God and accused Him of being unfaithful to His promises. My spiritual life took a dip.
It was a struggle for me to minister to others while contending with my faith and disappointment in God. My marriage and family took a hit and I developed a mentality of lack, constantly looking for the cheapest items and foodstuff to buy. I felt very lousy that I could not afford to provide my family with a better standard of living. During that season, I practically lived in fear and worry.
The amazing thing was this; while there was no “instant restoration of losses” or “financial breakthrough”, I had the sense that God was always with me. He never left me nor forsook me. When I entered full-time ministry, God’s word to me was that He would be my Jehovah Jireh, my Provider! The Lord gently assured me that He would look after me. I wish I could say that someone had left a large cheque in my mailbox, but that did not happen. There was no instant miracle. Yet, slowly but surely, with the sale of my first flat and with little blessings and savings, God restored all, and more, to me!
In retrospect, I was inexperienced and greedy. Furthermore, my relationship with God was somewhat transactional; if I served Him, He had to bless me. But today, if I can boast of one thing, it is that my God has been good and faithful to me and my household!
This whole episode greatly strengthened my faith in God, especially regarding provision. Now, when I go through a period of challenge, I will always bring God’s faithfulness into remembrance!
For us who are in Christ, we can have all confidence that God holds our future, which will be glorious. Our current minds cannot understand and perceive the immensity of the joy and glory in heaven that awaits us both in this life and for eternity! God’s personal plan for you is not only for this lifetime, He is diligently seeing it through till our glorification ― when we will stand before Him, face to face.
I want to encourage you to put God in remembrance! Remember what God has done for you. Remember what God is doing in you. And remember what God will be doing for you! Remembering God will help us draw closer to him. It will evoke gratitude, worship, and hope in Him. I am very sure that your prayer and worship will never be the same again as you put God in remembrance. Here is wishing the most glorious new year as we remember the goodness of our Lord.