REMEMBRANCE

Pr. James Victor Lubwama

Deuteronomy 8:7-14 (GNT)

“The Lord your God is bringing you into a fertile land—a land that has rivers and springs, and underground streams gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land that produces wheat and barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and honey. 9 There you will never go hungry or ever be in need. Its rocks have iron in them, and from its hills you can mine copper. 10 You will have all you want to eat, and you will give thanks to the Lord your God for the fertile land that he has given you. 11 “Make certain that you do not forget the Lord your God; do not fail to obey any of his laws that I am giving you today. 12 When you have all you want to eat and have built good houses to live in 13 and when your cattle and sheep, your silver and gold, and all your other possessions have increased, 14 be sure that you do not become proud and forget the Lord your God who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves.”

Ever since we accepted Christ as our Lord and Saviour, there is a lot each one of us has experienced that we did not expect. Salvation is a relationship with God who makes us what we are – blessed and prosperous because He is Mighty; and gifts us with the Holy Spirit who helps us to walk rightfully with Jesus even when we get weary. This unfathomable love and abundant blessing is summed up in the scriptures above.

God told the Israelites while in the wilderness that He was taking them to a good land. Deuteronomy 8:7-8 (NKJV) says; “ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey.”   So before they reached this land, He gave them a preview of the land into which they were going - before God takes you into your blessing, before you begin your journey, He will reveal to you the end. Isaiah 46:10 (GW) says; “From the beginning I revealed the end. From long ago I told you things that had not happened …….”

The Israelites were in a desert when the Lord made this promise to them. It is difficult to believe that the Lord is taking you to a land of opportunities when you are going through difficult times, but it’s in such moments that we need to doubt our doubts and believe God’s word. All those promises mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:9 (NKJV) are ours; “a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.” There is a world God is going to make for you. He is going to remove all the deficient circumstances that cause you to grumble and replace them with an abundant life filled with goodness and mercy. God is saying that He is going to take you to a land where you will have no scarcity; where you will lack nothing; for He has good plans for you, plans to prosper you and make you a blessing through the promises in the bible. One thing we need to do when life is good and rosy is to choose to remember the God who made it possible.

When you remember, you will be thankful; you need to beware of the mystery of thanksgiving because pride can fill you up and you forget the Lord who made it all possible - the devil can rob you of the spirit of thankfulness and you forget that it was God who did that particular thing for you - in such a scenario you will take the credit for whatever has happened, sidelining God and exalting yourself. A grateful person is one who does not forget. If you take a flashback of what God has done in your life, you will be grateful; but to most people, that sense of gratefulness has been stolen from them by the devil. One of the reasons why we do not remember is ungratefulness - whenever you are grateful you remember and, even become decorous. It is important to remember all those who influenced you to be who you are; and for you to go before God in thanksgiving is a sign that you remember and are grateful for what He has done in your life. Before Jesus died, He told his disciples in Matthew 26:32 (AMP) that; “But after I am raised [to life], I will go ahead of you [leading the way] to Galilee.” In Galilee there was anointing that made Jesus and thus He wanted His disciples to go there so that the same anointing that made Him would also work on them. He did not forget about Galilee much as he was born in Bethlehem because His ministry originated from the former. Always remember to return to the anointed place that made you.

When do we forget? When we are full; when we have crossed over; when we have got our hearts’ desires; when we are in our harvest. Deuteronomy 8:12-13 (NKJV) lists the moments we become forgetful; “when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied”

When you are in a season of abundance, you can easily forget. There is a time for increase and multiplication. But when you get to this season, do not forget the Lord; do not allow you heart to be lifted up lest you forget and become ungrateful.

Children appreciate your parents; partners appreciate each other. Love those who have influenced you to be what you have become, but in all, do not forget to return to the Lord with thanksgiving. As we approach the festive season – a season of love and thanksgiving, endeavor to remember and appreciate those who have done transformational work in your life.

Remember and be grateful