God Still Remembers

"To the One who remembered us in our low estate, His love endures forever," (Psalm 136:23)I have a bad memory. I simply can't remember things the way I used to. Oftentimes, I group things in threes to help me remember. Sometimes, it works. Other times, I still forget.At church tonight, we sang, "So remember your people, remember your children, remember your promise, O God." Then and there, I thanked God for remembering. When I was yet a sinner, when I was yet forgettable, God remembered me. I was helpless and could not on my own stand before a Holy God. I could do nothing to save myself or to earn His love. Yet he remembered me. He saw my sinfulness, my need for a Savior. He sent Jesus - his one and only perfect Son - to die and bring me forever unto Him. God remembered me. More than two thousand years later, God continues to remember me. His thoughts toward me outnumber the grains of sand (Psalm 139:17-18). He doesn't forget me. Instead, he's continually thinking about me. My pain, my sadness, my fear. He keeps me in His memory.He is also moved to help me, just as He was moved to save me. When pain overpowers me, God remembers me with His strength. When sadness plagues me, God remembers me with His joy. When fear overwhelms me, God remembers me with His peace. God remembers me with love.Sometimes, I don't have much to offer. No strength. No joy. No peace. Other times, I myself want to forget. God still remembers. Sometimes, family and friends forget. No calls. No letters. No visits. But God still remembers. He continues thinking. He continues loving. He continues saving.My low estate. My brokenness. My forgetfulness. Thank God, He still remembers.Prayer: Father, thank you for remembering me on the cross, and thank you for remembering me in my pain. Help me not to forget that you always remember. Amen.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Daphne is a thirty-something freelance writer and speaker who comforts others with the comfort she herself has received from God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). She is a leader in a Christ-centered recovery program and is daily learning to believe God through all of her physical, mental, and emotional challenges. Contact Daphne at daphne@daphnewrites.com.

God's Love Is Complete

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:17b-19 NIV)Have you ever wondered if God's love is really all you need? Is it really enough to get you through those very tough times in your life? Is God's love a constant? Is there anywhere that God's love cannot reach?There are times when I struggle. I struggle to make sense of what is happening to me, or around me. Struggle knowing what is the right thing to do in the circumstances. Wondering if there is anyone who really understands or knows how I am feeling.But knowing the love of God, is what makes it possible for me to go on. Knowing that God will be there with me to face whatever today, or tomorrow brings and knowing that God's love cannot be lost by any mistakes that I make, makes me able to get up and face a new day, each and every day.As humans we show love to one another, but we also do things to other people that aggravate, hurt or upset them. Because we are human, we will keep on doing that. Our relationships with other people are always flawed, even though in our own way, we may love them.God loves us no matter what we do, we cannot be outside of God's love. His love is all-encompassing and we cannot escape from it.I love Renee Bondi's book, The Last Dance but Not the Last Song, where she says about the above verses :"God's love is complete. It is wide – covering all our experiences and reaching out to the whole world. It is long – continuing the length of our lives. It is high – rising to the heights of our joy and celebration. It is deep – reaching to the depths of our despair and hopelessness. When you feel cut off or alone, remember that you can never be outside of God's love." God's love is truly complete. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Fiona Burrows lives in Melbourne, Australia. She is thankful for the difference God makes in her life as she lives with chronic pain. She enjoys finding time for writing, travel and photography.