Reader, Memorial Day is a holiday, which honors those in the United States military who died. It is also a holiday, which rings in summer vacation for children. For Memorial Day, many plan to spend the day at the pool, plan to spend time with family and friends, plan to spend time resting, and plan to eat barbeque, hamburgers, or hot dogs. Memorial Day represents different things to everyone, but have we ever paused to think about what the word, “memorial” means? The word, “memorial” means, “serving to preserve the memory of a person or an event; something that keeps alive the memory of a person or event; serving to preserve remembrance.” In essence, today is an opportunity to pause and enjoy time with family and friends and remember those we lost. In addition to those opportunities, let us pause and reflect on what the Lord teaches us in His Word on remembering.
Throughout God’s Word there are phrases we see numerous times. For example, “do not be afraid,” and “do not worry.” Why is the Lord repetitive? Because we are forgetful. We forget in the moments when we are faced with news that our flesh’s instinct is to fear, and we forget in the moments when we are faced with an unexpected financial woe and our flesh’s instinct is to worry and be anxious. It is human nature in a fallen world to fear and worry, and yet, the Lord throughout His Word calls His disciples not to fear or worry.
How can we (during fearful and worrisome circumstances) not fear or worry? For the answer, let us turn to the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John is a book in God’s Word I hold close to my heart, for it is the first book I read in God’s Word—I was in eighth grade. It is the book which led me to begin my own personal relationship with the Lord apart from my parents’ encouragement. If you have never read this gospel, please do! For instance, it is the only gospel, which goes in-depth about the third person in the Trinity: The Holy Spirit. This is where we will hang out for the remainder of this post. To be specific, John 16:33b, which says, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Jesus gives us two things in this verse:
- A PROMISE “[we] will have tribulation.” This promise is not one we jump for joy over; it is one we wish were not the truth. Tribulation is a product of living in a fallen world and tribulation will look different for everyone in their life. No one is exempt from experiencing tribulation, not even our Lord and Savior when He walked this earth.
- A REMINDER “[Jesus has] overcome the world.” Jesus reminds us of who He is: the Overcomer. As Christ followers, we know what Jesus did on the cross and how the Holy Spirit’s power rose Him from the dead. Yet, how often do we remember in our day-to-day lives how, because He overcame, we do not have to succumb to fear or worry?
If we are honest, we forget we do not have to fear or worry because we are inundated with what triggers our fear or worry every day. Since we are surrounded by our triggers, it means we must be intentional about remembering the truth. How?
- TIME IN THE WORD. There is no better way to remember what the Lord says than to go to read what He says in His Word.
- TIME IN PRAYER. When we allow the Holy Spirit to lead our prayers, our prayers may start out from a posture of fear or worry and conclude in a posture of peace, for the Holy Spirit reminds us of the truth (John 14:26).
- TIME IN WORSHIP. Worship is an opportunity to sing the truth found in God’s Word. We must not wait until we feel like worshipping the Lord, for a lot of times, we will not feel like worshipping in the moments when we need to do so the most. We need to choose to worship.
So, reader. when we remember to be intentional about taking time with God, He gives us peace in the middle of fearful circumstances and rest in worrisome ones, too.
CHALLENGE: Look up verses on fear and worry. Notice the Lord’s reasons behind why we should not fear or worry. What do the Lord’s reasons reveal?
All Bible verses are from Holy Bible: English Standard Version