In early December last year, the Lord gave me one word and took me on a walk through scripture to show me how much that word means to Him.

He said He wanted me to focus on the word, REMEMBER.

The first time the Bible uses the word Remember is in Genesis 9:12 and 15

¹² And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: ¹³ I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴ It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow 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; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

This talks about God remembering, but when we see the rainbow, we too remember Noah and the covenant promise God made about not flooding the entire globe again. But I knew there was more that He wanted us to remember.

After reading this scripture and others, I went to Strong’s Concordance in Blue Letter Bible and found Genesis 9:15 and looked up the meaning of remember.

Remember is #2142 in the Strong’s. It is the word Zakar – זָכַר

It means to mention, to recall, record, or make a remembrance. It’s spelled with a Zayin, Kaf and Resh

Zayin 7 = completeness, Perfection, Fullness.  Means: Sword of the Spirit, Dagger, ax, Weapon or Seed, to cut off, pierce, prune, or harvest

Kaf 20 = Anointing of the hand on the head, Redemption. Means: To Bend Down, Surrender, Palm of the Hand, Wing – Good works with our hand in Yeshua

Resh 200 = Insufficiency, Poverty. Picture: Head Means:Head, Chief, Beginning, Highest, Most Important, a Person, Human Reasoning vs. Obedience.  (When we allow human reasoning to be our master, our head, poverty of the Spirit results.)

I asked Holy Spirit to help me put these letters together for meaning, and this is how He led me.

(Zayin)Remembering activates a weapon or seeds that pierce through deception and bring forth a harvest of truth.  (Kaf) Remembering causes us to bend in surrender with an anointing to do the works of Jesus, that (Resh) comes against our human reasoning.

Briefly, we can say that Remembering puts God’s compassion and power on display before us and causes us to trust and follow Him.

God created the Hebrew Alephbet (That is the way it is spelled in Hebrew), and created the hieroglyphics and meanings of each letter.  Our Bibles today, unless translated by someone with strong Hebrew understanding, do not carry the depth of meaning God originally intended.  It is only when you dig into the context and the meaning of each letter that the treasure of each word is revealed.

Two other scriptures came to mind:

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

To acknowledge the Lord, means to look to Him for counsel.  To realize that He has the wisdom needed for direction and willingly yield to His instructions.

STOP FOR A MINUTE RIGHT NOW AND ASK YOURSELF:

Has God directed my path recently or in the past? Write a brief word or two that will remind you.  You can go back later and write more if you want.

The other scripture was, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Our thoughts are where deception and disobedience begin.

When we realize that our thoughts are not in line with God’s ways and will, we must refuse them and take them into captivity to God’s word. To redirect our thoughts, all we need to do is whisper His name. Jesus will do the work needed as our focus is turned on Him.

Let’s open Psalm 103:1-14   As we read this, make note of the things David is telling us to do and to remember? What is he telling us about God?

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
² Bless the Lord, O my soul,

[Your SOUL is your MIND—thoughts and logic, WILL, and EMOTIONS.  These are the three areas where the enemy traffics to draw you away from God and His will.]

And forget not all His benefits:  — forgetting not is to remember
³ Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
⁴ Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
⁵ Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
⁷ He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
⁹ He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
¹⁰ He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
¹² As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
¹³ As a father pities his children,            
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
¹⁴ For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.

Why is it important to know that God remembers we are dust?

Well, God realizes how fragile we are and knows that we have given the enemy free reign in our world to distract, deceive and destroy His children.  He knows we need His mercy and help.

Now, let’s look at Psalm 77:10b-14

This is a psalm written by Asaph, one of the head worshipers in David’s worship team.  In verse 2, he writes: In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted.

Have you had nights like this where you were so troubled that you couldn’t stop your thoughts, your emotions, or your mind from trying to figure out how to fix something?  Well, let’s read what Asaph did:

Asaph went on despairing and wondering if God has abandoned him. But then, in verse 10, he writes: In my anguish, I will remember…

^10 b But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.”    ¹¹ I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

Asaph was choosing to remember the times God moved supernaturally in his life.  That is what the Right Hand represents.  He is remembering how mighty and compassionate God was and that He never changes. Wherever you see the term right hand in the Bible, as it refers to God, it is talking about God’s authority and supernatural power.

¹² I will also meditate on all Your work,
And talk of Your deeds.
¹³ Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary;
Who is so great a God as our God?
¹⁴ You are the God who does wonders;
You have declared Your strength among the peoples.

A commentator wrote about Psalm 77–“The message of this psalm is that to brood on sorrow is to be broken and disheartened, while to see God is to sing on the darkest day. Once we come to know that our years are of His right hand, there is light everywhere.”

Remembering lifts our focus to God and encourages us to continue to trust Him and do what He is telling us to do, regardless of the chaos around us. 

Now let’s look at one more psalm, Psalm 105:1-5. Its first 5 verses are packed with things to do that will refresh and strengthen our faith.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
² Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works!
³ Glory in His holy name;
  Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
⁴ Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!

⁵ Remember His marvelous works which He has done,
His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,

This sounds like the behavior of someone who is in love. When we are in love, all we can think about or talk about is the one we love.  How much do we think about God? Talk about Him?

Ask Holy Spirit to show you where God acted on your behalf.  He is likely to show you where God was in the very worst moments of your life, when you thought He’d abandoned you.

Why ask the Holy Spirit?  Let’s read these verses out of the Amplified Classic Version:

John 14:16  And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever—

John 14:26  But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.

It is the Holy Spirit’s assignment to remind us.

But remembering our past through the lens of God’s faithful love requires attentiveness, patience, and prayer. David and Asaph remembered in two specific ways:

1. They remembered who God is.
2. They remembered what God had done.

Both of these are necessary in our remembering. 

There is more than one way to remember. If we choose to remember our past through the lens of bitterness, pain, unforgiveness, or fear, chances are, we will become bitter, wounded, angry, and anxious people.  But if we choose to remember our past through the lens of God’s steadfast, faithful love, we will become a joyful, grateful, forgiving, peace-filled people. (We and all around us will be blessed.)

Like David, we must remind our souls that no matter what our outer circumstances seem to say about our past, present, or future, the character and goodness of our God remain the same.  These remembrances stirred David’s soul to remember his life through the lens of a God who loves Him, is always for him, will never forsake him, and will bring him to His home as His child one day.

Remembering is one thing, but God asks us to do more.  He wants us to share our testimonies and our reasons we believe in God—Especially with our Children and Grandchildren.

Here are some supporting scriptures about Remembering and Declaring.  It is full of God’s instructions to tell our children and others about our relationship with God. 

Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, Deuteronomy 4:9

“Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of many generations.
Ask your father, and he will show you;
Your elders, and they will tell you:  Deuteronomy 32:7

 Hear this, you elders, And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land!
Has anything like this happened in your days,
Or even in the days of your fathers?
³ Tell your children about it,
Let your children tell their children,
And their children another generation. Joel 1:2-3

 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
³ Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
⁴ We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. ⁵ For He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children;
⁶ That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,
⁷ That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments; Psalm 78:2-7

One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts. Psalm 145:4

Children are always watching and listening to what we do and say.  And they have minds that remember even when they aren’t doing what we’ve asked.

This is the end of Part 1. In Part 2 I will share with you some ways to help you remember and ways to help teach your children to remember. We must remember who God is and what He has done to see us through this season of tremendous transition in our world. Along with this, I will share some divine insight and a reminder from God that applies to us today. I hope to get Part 2 out before the week is over.

Shalom ♥