When you are going through a dark or difficult season, one side effect can be to forget the power and the goodness of God. When God isn’t doing what you think He should, it is easy to focus on the problem, and it suddenly becomes larger than the solution—which is God Himself.
The enemy can appear to be stronger than he actually is and more powerful than God Almighty. And when the enemy becomes our focus, even unwittingly, he receives glory. Doubt seeps in as to whether or not God will act on our behalf—which can lead to discouragement, hope deferred, and downright fear.
Years ago, when going through one such season (referenced in my book, Don’t Cheat The Butterfly), I could see this happening in my own heart, and it disturbed me. One of the many beautiful outcomes of that time was that God began to reveal keys for healing and breakthrough. One such key provided a way to turn our hearts back toward God’s goodness and power—back to renewed hope and to peace in the midst of a storm. And that key is: to Remember.
It started when I read Nehemiah 9, in reference to God’s mercy. This excellent chapter recounts many of the amazing acts God performed for the Israelites, especially in bringing them out of their slavery in Egypt. Sadly, verses 16-17 go on to say,
“But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them” (ESV).
When I read these two verses, something jumped out at me…“they were not mindful of His wonders.” I looked up the word “mindful” in the original Hebrew. It means “to call to remembrance” and “to make a memorial.”
The Israelites hadn’t been mindful of God’s wonders. And in a long season of deep struggle, I hadn’t been, either. I was quick to be mindful of what God was not doing. That, I had no problem with.
I had a list of unanswered prayers—especially concerning my son at the time—always at the forefront of my mind. And yet I was failing to call to remembrance what God had so mercifully and powerfully done in the past on my behalf, and on behalf of my children and loved ones.
Isn’t this typical of many of us today? We are often mindful (even if only subconsciously) of what God has not yet done—possibly on a daily basis. But how often do we intentionally call to remembrance what God has done on our behalf in the past? And how often do we take that a step further and “make a memorial” of it?
During our family’s struggle, we began to learn that remembering—with an attitude of thankfulness—is a powerful tool against the enemy. God began to teach me about being intentional each day, not only to remember what God had done for us in the past, but to celebrate what He was doing in the present.
It was a deliberate act of my will to pay attention to what God was doing and to be thankful. I learned that it was important—even a spiritual weapon—not only to acknowledge, but also to celebrate “small” miracles or the baby steps we were making toward the healing and deliverance of what we were going through.
This intentionality encouraged a spirit of gratitude in our hearts, which gave birth to hope. And hope, my friends, does not disappoint! (Romans 5:5)
Eventually, what we expressed verbally during our dark season became tangible. What poured forth from our hearts as a means of strategy morphed into a family journal. We decided on a “Smeltzer Book of Remembrance.”
This was simply a journaling of things, like:
· Special relationships God has blessed us with.
· Adventures we have gone on.
· Blessings and favor we have experienced individually and as a family.
· Provision we have received, both in times of lack and in times of plenty.
· Times of God’s divine protection and rescue.
· Areas in our lives where we have received God’s grace and mercy.
· Miracles and acts of God’s intervention in our lives.
· Promises God has spoken to us from the Word, etc., and their fulfillment.
· God’s intervention we have been blessed to witnessed in the lives of people we love.
· Aspects of God’s nature and character we are thankful for in our lives.
· Anything else we recognize to be from His hand that we are thankful for.
We began documenting everything we could think of, as a tribute to God’s goodness and love toward us. And this remembering—this intentional documenting—became a part of our Thanksgiving family tradition, and it remains a treasured part to this day.
Each year, I do my best to type up what each family member shares, as we go around the table. I save it in a document on my computer. We share what we are thankful for over the course of our lifetimes, but also over the last year. It isn’t an exhaustive list by any stretch, but it is our heart to do something special to commemorate God’s loving and mighty acts on our behalf.
Sometimes gratefulness and thanksgiving come easy. At other times, especially when suffering and going through hardship, choosing a heart of gratitude toward God is more “a sacrifice of praise.”
Regardless of where we find our hearts this Thanksgiving, our family will go around the table being mindful of His wonders. We will call to remembrance the mighty acts God has done—in us and for us, as individuals and as a family. In so doing, we will be making a memorial—which I hope will be passed down for generations to come.
A “Book of Remembrance” can be done in a variety of ways. It can be handwritten in a journal. It can be recorded verbally. It can be a video made on your phone. Each person could write or type their own, to be collected and kept in a special box or in a digital document on a computer.
And what if you are the only one that would care to do this in your family? Then do it yourself. Do it for the One—Jesus—the Lover of your soul.
Imagine if you had something like this in your possession—not only for you to personally look back on and be encouraged by, but also to leave behind for family or friends. I would love to have something like this written by my ancestors over the years. To read of their faith in the Lord, and their choosing to call to remembrance all who God was for them and all He did on their behalf—during good times and bad—Oh, what a treasure that would be!
You don’t need to wait. It doesn’t have to take place on Thanksgiving, either. It could be done at any time, or in any family, friend, or church group gathering. If people live in different locations, it can be done separately and sent to each other to keep and treasure. It could be done at Christmas, New Year’s, or throughout the year.
Regardless of the details or format…whether you find yourself in want or plenty; with hope or hope deferred; in good health or in need of a miracle, would you choose to join us? Would you create your own Book of Remembrance? I hope you do. I know it will be a sweet smelling fragrance to the Lord—the One who deserves our intentional remembrance and praise.
I will remember the works of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
I will also meditate on all Your work,
And talk of Your deeds,
(Psalms 77:11-12, NKJV.)
If you care to hear more of our testimony or learn more of the keys for healing & breakthrough that the Lord taught our family during our darkest night, you can check out my book: DON’T CHEAT THE BUTTERFLY: A Battle, A Strategy, and A Mind Transformed on the “BOOKS” page of my website at: www.kristensmeltzer.com OR click the “Learn More” button, below.
