Remember His Radical Faithfulness

Psalm 44.
I would be stopped in my tracks by the title of the chapter in The Passion Translation.
“Wake Up, Lord, We’re In Trouble.”

And I wonder how many times we’ve heard this over the last 2 months.
Or how many times we've said it ourselves over the last several weeks.

Wake up, Lord, we’re in trouble.

It was disciples in the boat with a sleeping Savior who said the same thing.  “Teacher, don't you care if we drown?”  (Mark 4:38)

And yet there He was - in the boat with His students the whole time.
He never left.
He said He wouldn’t.
Oh, but we fail to remember.

And I could hear the announcement to us from the ones who went before, calling from the pages of His glorious Word.  Psalm 44:1, “O God, we have heard it with our own ears - our ancestors have told us of all you did in their day, in days long ago: You drove out the pagan nations by Your power and gave all the land to our ancestors.  You crushed their enemy's and set our ancestors free.”

I love that even the title doesn't match up to the words they were speaking. 
Perhaps they knew a little something about the power of remembering, and that sometimes… we have to do some self talk until our heart catches up.
“Wake up, Lord, we’re in trouble.”
“We have heard it with our own ears - all You did!”

Our former experiences.. and the experiences of those we love… are strong supporters to our faith.  When we can recall His goodness, and speak to His past mercies and provision, our faith, and the faith of those watching on and listening in, increases!

The Psalmist begins with what he had heard about God… all that He had done, and he spills into what he knows to be true of His God and who He is (verses 4-8)

He says this like, 
“You are my King and my God.”
“You are the One who gives us victory over our enemies.”
And, “You disgrace those who hate us.”

What is he doing?
He’s remembering the faithfulness of God, and claiming those past evidences of grace over his own life.  In the rehearsing of former goodness, He is heralding in present graces and future glory.

And we must do the same.

If we can’t discern what He’s doing, we must remember what He has done.
We must remember, recall, and repeat His faithfulness.
His wonders are in continuous forward motion.
Scripture tells us that He is moving from “glory to glory”.  This means that His faithfulness and His goodness is progressive.  It is always advancing.
He is a God who changes not, and He is a Father who never abandons His hungry, seeking children.  What God has been… who God has been… is who He will always be.

“I am the LORD, and I do not change.”  Mal 3:6

“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.”  Isaiah 28:16

“No, I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm—I will come to you.”  John 14:18

God is working in the eye of the storm.  He does His best work in the dreadful famine, where He says to us with great confidence and reassurance that He will (Ps 23:5), “prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…” so that the destroyer is forced to have to see me feast in plenty!

Remember His goodness.
Recall His faithfulness.
Repeat His promises.

He’s so much better than we deserve Him to be!