Over the last two days the Lord has had me reflecting back on some of His words to me. There has been a theme of revisiting and reminding myself of some of the things He has spoken. This morning I felt led to turn to Nehemiah chapter 8, Here are the verses that caught my attention this morning - Nehemiah 8:13-18 NIV:
[13] "On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the teacher to give attention to the words of the Law. [14] They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month [15] and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters”---as it is written.
[16] So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. [17] The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.
[18] Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly."
As I was reflecting on this word I felt like I should turn to Psalm 77:6-15 NIV:
[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."
Clearly the theme is remembering what the Lord has done and has spoken. It is good for me to review what the Lord has said regularly, and that is something I have not been very good at of late. The Lord speaks into our lives to give us direction and guidance, and perspective. Sometimes His words are spoken as confirmation and to provide assurance that He is in deed paying attention to your life.
In the verses from Nehemiah, the people discover that they have forgotten as a people one of the feasts they were supposed to celebrate. They had been in captivity for a few generations and had apparently not remembered to pass down the teachings, or not done the job well. One wonders what we as a Church have forgotten in the two thousand years we have been functioning, let alone in the last couple of generations?
The verses from Psalm 77 is more of a remembering history and recalling times of sweetness or closeness of the Lord! The Lord never changes in His affection for us, but we certainly do go through seasons where we are more aware of His love. It is good to remember, and rekindle on our side these memories and even the affection.
In summary, I am encouraged to spend some time today remembering, reflecting, rereading and revisiting God's words, actions and encouragements. I am encouraged that there is much He wants me to be reminded of in my life. He has done amazing things and remembering is a great way to feed the flames of gratitude and affection!
Thank you Lord for all that You have spoken and done in my life in 2021. I look forward to 2022!!
Amen!
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