When God Remembers

Over the past month, I have thought often about Noah, quarantined in a sense, swaying in the waves and bobbing like a cork upon the mighty seas. I wonder if Noah and his family had a hard time remembering what day it was. I wonder if the walls became boring, the chores monotonous and the seasickness overpowering. I wonder if they grieved for the loved ones lost in the flood, or as the drops of rain swirled into rising waves they moved from fear to deep sorrow. I wonder if they felt a lot like we feel now. For about a year, Noah and his family lived inside the tar pitch ark they called home.  

As the pandemic tightens its fierce grip, my heart has moved from bouts of anxiety to deep waves of sorrow. I am gripped with sadness as I hear the news of my friend’s family members who are either fighting for their lives, or lost their lives to this virus. I see photos of our medical warriors fighting on the front lines, risking their own health to fight for another. I sense the economic shift, and I know friends will lose jobs, not be able to pay mortgage, or go deeper into debt. Now, more than ever, a desperate world needs an anchor and a sorrow clad world needs hope. This is our moment!

Like rays of sun breaking through gray storm clouds, “God remembered Noah.”

God Remembered

God does not remember in the way that we remember, like the million times I lose my phone and cannot remember where I left it. For God, remember is not the opposite of forget.

Remember is the covenant language used to portray God’s faithful, merciful and sovereign actions towards His people for His covenant plan. This theme weaves its way through the beginnings of time. With Noah. Abraham. Rachel. Hannah. And then, Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist; and Mary, the mother of Jesus. God’s remembrance carries the beautiful understanding that God can turn the ship around in every single dire situation

Mary sang, “He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy.” (Luke 1:54) 

While Zechariah prophesied, “For He has visited and redeemed His people…to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant.” (Luke 1:68,72)

God remembered Noah and God will remember us. Even as we sway in the uncertain waves, where our hearts sorrow and our souls ache, God will remember us. His covenant faithfulness has no end. He is never late. He owns absolute sovereignty. He holds the future in the palm of His hands. And He will always act in faithful mercy to His covenant people. Always.

This does not mean we will be spared the sorrow of this broken world. Noah bobbed in a boat for a year. Rachel agonized over infertility. Mary accepted her unwed pregnancy. John the Baptist died in Herod’s dungeon. And now, when our stomachs grow seasick and our hearts multiply with sorrow, how now should we live? As we wait for the rebirth of this broken world, where can we anchor our hope?  

In our most desperate moments, we must remember the God who remembers. When storms avail and our ship dips into the waves, we can anchor our hope to His faithful promise to show mercy to His people. For God so loved, that He sent His beloved son to die on a cross and rescue you from sinking in hopelessness. 

Perfect is His memory of the merciful covenant at the cross of Jesus. Trust that His mercies will rise as sure as the sun kissed raindrops brought forth the first rainbow, until the day He calls you home and glory resplendent is forever your gaze. 

“Behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne…and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.” Revelations 4:3