Moving Beyond Anxietyনমুনা

Remember

Have you ever pondered God’s amazing gift of memory? In our mind, God has given us the ability to remember exact details about the things we experience in our lives. Not only can we use memory to recall past events, we can also use our memories to thwart anxiety.

Some of our memories are painful. When they come to our mind, our heart winces. Among those memories are failures, broken dreams, poor decisions, regrets, and betrayals. But even these past experiences shouldn’t be considered all bad when we remember them.  They can serve as a reminder of how not to do something, or why we should not trust someone. Pain can be invaluable when a positive life lesson is learned from it.

Other life memories are positive and pleasant. They serve as encouragements for us to keep moving forward.  To believe and have hope. This includes successes, fulfilled dreams, long-term faithful relationships, loving and being loved, places and times spent with close friends, and breath-taking views of God’s wonderful creation all around us.

Positive memories can encourage our faith like nothing else. Not only do they feel wonderful, but they are like God whispering to our souls, If I did it once for you, I can do it again. This infuses us with hope and lets us know we can live expectantly for a new day and a new song. We can live expectantly knowing the coronavirus will pass. 

Recall a miracle in your life – a circumstance in which God came through for you. A time when you were in an impossible situation and God showed up.  Then place your present worry beside your memory of the miracle.  The more you remember how God has proven himself faithful, the less power anxiety will have over you. 

Remember God’s miracles in his Word, especially the parting of the Red Sea and the Resurrection. These two miracles, among all the others, are the centerpieces of the Old Testament and the New Testament. They are either true or lies. If true, think of how God intervenes for his children. These two testimonies to God’s power should dwarf all the worries in our lives.

Also, remember your baptism. After a baptism, I encourage the new believer to always remember this event. Why? Because in the times when life seems dark and hopeless, it helps to remember descending into the water in death to the old life and emerging from the water to new life in Jesus.

Remember God knows you personally, by name. In Isaiah 49:16 he said, “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” Think about that. God has your name tattooed on his palms.  He looks at your name regularly. When he sees your name, it brings a smile to his eternal visage. 

When the enemy attacks you with worry, counterpunch by remembering. Fight back by never forgetting. Your memory is a potent gift the Father has given you to chase anxiety away.