God Remembers

Introduction

Exodus 2:23–25 KJV 1900

23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

Body

When we think of memory, we think of being able to remember. Events, appointments, past experiences, something someone told us that one time.

When we can’t remember these things, we are said to have forgotten.

We certainly forget things, but God does not

So, what does it mean then, when the Bible says that ‘God remembers?’

The Hebrew word translated as ‘remember’ means: To remember, to recollect, to bring to mind, to make mention of, named, thought of, take to court, proclaim

So when God remembers something, it’s been proclaimed in His ear, someone made mention of it, brought it to God’s attention.

I like to think of it as “I’m proclaiming to God that I haven’t forgotten and I’m still expecting a miracle!”

So, What does God remember?

God Remembers His Covenant

Genesis 9:14–16 KJV 1900

14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

Again, God is not going to forget His covenant with us.

He puts this token of the covenant in place primarily for our benefit, that when the waters come, so does the rainbow to assure us that God hasn’t forgotten. There will be no worldwide flood.

When His covenant is brought before Him in this manner it’s as if it’s being renewed between us and Him.

Psalm 111:5 KJV 1900

5 He hath given meat unto them that fear him: He will ever be mindful of his covenant.

No matter what happens, God never forgets His covenant with us.

Luke 1:69–73 KJV 1900

69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David; 70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, Which have been since the world began: 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, And from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

The covenant made with Abraham was many thousands of years before this, but now the fulfillment of it would finally come to pass

Even over a period of thousands of years God does not forget His covenants with us.

God Always Remembers His Promises

Psalm 105:42 KJV 1900

42 For he remembered his holy promise, And Abraham his servant.

Deuteronomy 6:20–23 KJV 1900

20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? 21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: 22 And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: 23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.

God’s promises to Abraham were finally being fulfilled here, to give His people a promised land.

God remembered that these were His people, and He delivered them from out of bondage and into a land flowing with milk and honey

God will move heaven and earth to see His promise fulfilled in our lives.

Joshua 1:3 KJV 1900

3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

What God promised to Moses was not forgotten. God would see His promise fulfilled.

2 Peter 3:9 KJV 1900

9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Specifically God’s promise of mercy, but generally a statement that God takes His promises very seriously, and works diligently to see them fulfilled.

God Always Remembers His People

Isaiah 49:15–16 KJV 1900

15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, That she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, Yet will I not forget thee. 16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; Thy walls are continually before me.

What a beautiful thought. The most powerful picture of longing and remembrance we can think of pales in comparison to how much God loves and longs for us.

He will never forget us, or anything about us

Where we’re at

What we’re going through

Those things we’ve sacrificed for Him

Those things we’ve endured for His Name’s sake

And there’s nothing we can do to make Him loves us any less, or to forget us.

Genesis 7:24–8:1 KJV 1900

24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days. 1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;

There are circumstances we find ourselves in where we begin to feel as if God truly has forgotten us.

God NEVER forgets His people. No matter what you’re facing rest assured that God knows. He cares. He’s going to work with you all the way through.

Genesis 19:29 KJV 1900

29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

Specifically, God remembered Abraham’s intercessions before Him for Sodom and Gomorrah.

God remembered Abraham’s heart when He was pleading to God in their behalf, that it was like His heart.

I believe God has a soft spot in His heart for His intercessors.

Genesis 30:22 KJV 1900

22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

God remembers every word uttered, weeped, groaned, sobbed to Him in prayer. Every word!

When the time is right, be assured that God will make good on those prayers that you uttered to Him.

What you pray in secret, in the dark, in your prayer closet, God will manifest in your life for everyone to see!

1 Samuel 1:19–20 KJV 1900

19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her. 20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.

It always a good idea to take your problems to God and let Him take care of them.

God responds to faith. When there’s someone to stand up and declare the faithfulness of their God, God moves into that situation and starts working!

Luke 1:54–55 KJV 1900

54 He hath holpen his servant Israel, In remembrance of his mercy; 55 As he spake to our fathers, To Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Not in remembrance of His people

If God were to remember His people in this instance, it would be to remember their faults.

In this case, God remembers His promised mercy to His people.

God’s mercy is not based on our merits, but on the finished work of Calvary.

God will not forget His mercy towards His people. God will not forget His mercy toward you.

Situations In Which God Will Not Remember

Hebrews 8:10–12 KJV 1900

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

One thing God does NOT remember is any sin or iniquity that He has put under His blood.

God will NEVER bring them back up. He will never recall them in moments of anger.

God is the only one who can choose to forget something, and it’s completely gone!

This verse is quoting Jeremiah 31:33-34.

Isaiah 65:16–17 KJV 1900

16 That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hid from mine eyes. 17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: And the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

Not only these will be forgotten by God, but our own failures and shortcomings will be remembered no more.

All of our mistakes. All of our wrong decisions and poor choices will be remembered no more, nor come into mind.

Every time we failed God. Every time we disappointed someone or let someone down, gone forever.

Conclusion

Ezekiel 18:21–24 KJV 1900

21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? 24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

God will remember all that you did in Him, and will forget all your iniquity if He covers them in His precious blood

If not, God will remember every sin that you’re guilty of, even if you were once righteousness before Him

This is because now you’re guilty of the law again. You have sin in your life

But even if you’ve turned away from God, He still wants you to come back to Him