“There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens,”1 so penned King Solomon. There is, for instance, is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”2 so, too, there is for us “a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak.”3 Personally, I find myself in a season not mentioned amid Solomon’s couplets — a time of remembering. For less than two weeks from now, July 18 will mark 60 years since my father’s untimely passing, and the very next evening I will gather with my former classmates, whom I love, to celebrate our 50th high school reunion. We were a close class; we still are. So for me, there will be mourning amid dancing, and maybe weeping amid laughter, and behind it all will be remembrance.
Though remembrance can be painful, there is much to be gained through it. God repeatedly told His people, “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt.”4 Why on earth would God command His people to remember their years of oppression? He continued, “and the Lord your God redeemed you from there.”5 Against recollected evil, God’s goodness glows more brightly, and His faithfulness is found unmatched.
Does this sound too lofty — a nice concept, but detached from reality? Consider my personal story. After my father died, our young family struggled with grief. It was “one foot in front of the other” and “just go forward.” One day, someone shared a Bible verse, Psalm 68:5, with our mother; it read, “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.”6 Mom embraced this verse daily until the three of us, her children, left for college. All the while, God proved Himself to this fatherless one, for He gave me a teacher who drew potential from me. He sent a corporate manager to hire this college senior and thereafter to invest in my career. He placed in my life a pastor who exuded strength, confidence, and great joy — a true spiritual role model for this young believer. He sent another corporate executive who mentored me well. So as I look back now on my grief and despondency, I cannot do so without also remembering God’s faithful deliverance from its pain. For like a father to the fatherless, He was with me.
Can you relate? Can you recall how God has made difficult times in your life, though perhaps still painful, ultimately work for your good and to His praise? He is with you. Remember this.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” — Isaiah 43:2 NIV
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.”7 Thank you, Lord, for being with me, always. Amen.
1 Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV
2 Ecclesiastes 3:4 NIV
3 Ecclesiastes 3:7 NIV
4, 5 Deuteronomy 24:18 NIV
6 Psalm 68:5 RSV
7 Psalm 139:7-8 NIV
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Paul Nordman—Author 