MEMORIES

In today’s reading, I was fascinated by Nehemiah’s requests that the Lord remember him and his good deeds.  Nehemiah asks the Lord to remember him and his good deeds for his own benefit (5:19), so that his loyal deeds would remain in God’s book (13:14), so that God would have compassion on him (13:22) and because he had  successfully righted the wrongs of the leaders he had left in charge (13:31).

Nehemiah is also recorded asking the Lord to remember His promises to Moses and be faithful to His Word (1:8).  He also challenged the nation to remember how great and awesome their God was (4:14).  And he asked God to remember the evil of their enemies.
 
What struck me was that Nehemiah asks the Lord to remember…he challenges the people to remember…and he asks the Lord to remember the enemies of the nation.  Never does he challenge the Lord’s enemies to remember anything about God.  He does not ask them to remember His Word, His past deeds, His character, etc. This is because there is nothing to remember.  There is no relationship. There is no accumulated history. And unless there is repentance, there is nothing they will know of God except His wrath and judgment.  What do YOU remember about God?  Are there clear markers of a relationship in your past?  I hope so.