This is from a devotional that I wrote...have been thinking about post some here so everyone can read them. I hope it speaks to your heart today!!
We will remember, we will remember
We will remember the works of Your hands
We will stop and give you praise
For great is Thy faithfulness
You’re our Creator, our Life Sustainer
Deliverer, our Comfort our Joy
Throughout the ages
You’ve been our shelter,
Our Peace in the midst of the storm
With signs and wonders
You’ve shown your power
With precious blood
You showed us your grace
You’ve been our Helper
Our Liberator, the Giver
Of Life with no end
We will remember, we will remember
We will remember the works of Your hands
We will stop and give you praise
For great is Thy faithfulness
When we walk through life’s darkest valleys
We will look back at all you have done
And we will shout
“Our God is good and He is the faithful One!”
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
To the One from whom all blessings flow
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
To the One whose glory has been shown
We will remember, we will remember
We will remember the works of Your hands
We will stop and give you praise
For great is Thy faithfulness
I still remember the day You saved me
The day I heard You call out my name
You said you loved me and would never leave me
And I’ve never been the same.
It is so easy to get completely engaged in everyday life here on earth and forget the miracle of God’s saving grace. We keep ourselves busy, busy, busy moving from one task to the next. Have you ever watched an ant colony? If you haven’t, next time you come across one – stop and watch the line of ants back and forth, back and forth, and back and forth. Do you think maybe God looks down sometimes and see’s us like that – noses to the grindstone, focused on the task at hand and completely oblivious to Him? We are taught to work hard and not be idle, or at least I was. It’s as if there shouldn’t be any time for just sitting still. When is there time to hear God’s voice? When is there time to hear and feel him speak to our deepest spirit?
I don’t know about you, but my day starts early and keeps going full throttle until I’m ready to fall into bed. There is laundry and dishes to do, kids and husbands to get off to school and work, homework to help with, dogs to get to the vet, shopping, cooking, a full time job outside the home, baseball or football or band (f you have more than one child – it might be all three), bills to pay, yard work and then there are the “projects”. Not everyday stuff, but still require lots of time and then what about phone calls, notes or visits to the ones we love, vacations (those give us lots of time to be still, right?) and I haven’t even mentioned the activities at church!! Whew…..I’m tired, but you get the idea, where is the time for GOD?
Part of the message of this song is that we will STOP………………………………………………… stop the busyness that keeps us from praising Him and remember who HE is and what He has really done for us. We sing that He is:
Our Creator
Dueteronomy 32:6 (NIV) “Is this the way you repay the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?”
Dueteronomy 32: 6 (MSG) “Don’t you realize it is God you are treating like this? This is crazy; don’t you have any sense of reverence? Isn’t this your father who created you, who made you and gave you a place on Earth?”
Our Life Sustainer
Psalm 55:22 (NIV) “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.”
Our Comforter
Psalm 119:76 (NIV) “May your unfailing love be my comfort. “
Jeremiah 31:13 (NIV) “Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness: I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.”
Our Joy
Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)……for the joy of the Lord is your strength
“We will stop and give you praise”
Isaiah 25:1 (NIV) “O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.”
Psalm 117:2 (NIV) “For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.”
We determined already to stop in our busyness…but what do we do then? We give Him praise for His faithfulness. Pure and true praise that comes from the innermost part of who we are is what He desires. Praise is what we do while we are singing in worship, but it is also recognizing the leadership of Christ in your life. It is so important not to limit praise to when we are in a service or event or even when we are singing in our car. One of the definitions of praise is “the act of expressing approval or admiration; commendation; laudation. We understand praising our spouse or children to encourage and uplift them, but do we praise God in that same way before men? When we are living our lives in the world, are we living in such a way as to express approval, admiration or commendation of our Lord to others?
“Our Peace in the midst of the Storm”
John 14:27 (NIV) “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”
Psalm 107:29 (NIV) “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed”
The bible is full of stories in which a storm is the centerpiece. These storms are used to show us the unmatchable power of God who can calm the storm, protect us through the storm or deliver us from the storm. In Mark 4:35-41 Jesus calmed the stormy seas after the disciples woke him because they were terrified of the storm. In Jonah we find that God delivered him from the storm by giving him the protection inside a “great fish”. Jonah cries out to God in Jonah 2:7 “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple”. And finally, God protects us through the storm. What better example of God’s protection can we find that the story of Noah in Gen 6:9-8:22? God gave Noah very specific instructions and Noah followed them all. Noah and his family went through that storm and God protected them throughout and delivered them safely on the other side. In Gen 8:15 it says “Then God said to Noah, “come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.’” I hope you understand the power that God holds in his hand to handle anything that we will ever go through. He can calm the seas but He may hold you in His arms as you go through the storms of life, no matter how long or how severe that storm may be. Remember that the peace He gives us is not happiness and good circumstances, but serenity in knowing He is in control.
With precious blood, You showed us your grace.
John 3:16 (NIV) “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”.
Only through the blood of Jesus Christ can we find victory and salvation. There might be someone reading this that has never fully understood that it is through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross that we have eternal life. What an amazing gift of love that God would allow His only son to be the sacrifice for our sins. I still remember the day you saved me, the day I heard you call out my name. If you cannot clearly remember that day – I pray that today would be the day that you would let the barriers down, peel away the layers of pride and self reliance and get alone with God. It’s a simple prayer where you admit that you have sinned and acknowledge that you know that Christ died for your sins and only through His death we have eternal life…ask Him to forgive you and then open your heart fully to allow God to have complete control of every area of your life. Trust me; you will NEVER be the same. If you have been saved, this is an important part to listen to…..stop and remember the day He saved you. Do you remember where you were, the peace and joy that filled your entire being? Do you really? For some, that time was so long ago that it’s easy to forget and continue “being a Christian”. You go on doing the right things and little by little the fire gets a little dimmer and burns a little cooler. We should be living every day as if it was the first day God saved us because our lives are NOT the same!! We should be shouting from the rooftops and burning with the desire to share what God has done…..with everyone!! Not just on mission trips or service outings but here in our every day lives – the people we work with, our families and neighbors. We should be living every day so that people around us wonder where that peace comes from. OK…so I’m completely convicted!! Thank you God for speaking to me and may I continue to be changed by you!!
When we walk through life’s darkest valleys, We will look back at all you have done.
Psalm 23:4 (NIV) “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, the comfort me”
Matthew 4:16 (NIV) “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned”
These words were the ones that reached out and grabbed me and gave me a catch in my throat when we sang them the first time. As I look back on all God has done and where I might have been if it were not for His saving grace – it literally leaves me breathless. Think about the times that He walked with you in the valley. Those really, really hard times that you just didn’t think you could make it. I can remember one specific instance where I said the words “God, I just can’t to this anymore” and He said to me so clearly “YOU don’t have to do anything”. That was a long time ago and I remember it like it happened yesterday. Can I ask you to spend some time really thinking about what God has done for you? Can you list some things that you are thankful for? Not just the standard surface stuff that we normally think of, like: I’m thankful for my salvation or family or kids. While those things are important – reach beneath the surface and think about WHY you are thankful for those things because that is the only way for us to really grasp what God has done for us. Where are the valleys you have walked through – can you look back and truly see how He has worked in your life? Then, we should think about people we have shared Jesus with and…those we have not. It’s important to remember what God has done for us but it’s more important for us to use that knowledge to fuel the fire to tell others and share HIM!! Because we ARE NOT THE SAME!!
“We will remember the works of your hands”
Psalm 92:4 (NIV) “You make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of your hands”
Psalm 143:5 (NIV) “I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.”
In good times and tough times, we should be able to reflect on the mighty and awesome works of His hands. He is our Creator, Sustainer, Deliverer, Comforter, Joy, Shelter, Peace, Helper, Liberator, and the very Giver of Life with NO END!!! The things that He has done in the past will give us an understanding of who He is. The stories of how He worked in the lives those in bible times and other times in history need to be remembered and studied. Think about Corrie Ten Boom or Jim Elliot and Nate Saint whose stories of Gods hand at work are miraculous. That understanding will help us build the foundation so we can stand in confidence and know what He can do in the future. Remember that he is active and alive and working in our lives today!
Take some time today to really stop and remember all God has done in your life. Remember the works of His hands, His faithfulness and most importantly His saving grace. Were could we be today if not for the gift of Jesus Christ? Praise Him whose glory is shown in our lives every day. Thank Him for His blessings – the ones that make us happy and the blessings that are a struggle. Remember the valleys you have walked through or are walking through now and Praise God that you don’t have to go alone!
Read Deuteronomy 32:7. There are similar calls to remember all through the book of Deuteronomy as the Israelites prepare to enter the Promised Land. They are called to remember they were slaves in Egypt
