How has God rescued you? Do you remember the significant moment when you realized God came to save you through his Son Jesus?
I remember that moment when God answered my prayer. He heard my simple cry for help and he reached down and turned my life around. I am so grateful.
The Bible teaches us to look back and remember that moment when God rescued us because we are then grateful for what he had done and his love for us. It gives meaning in life, and to what we face day-to-day. We gain a bigger and better perspective.
God told his people to remember how he initially liberated them from Egypt.
Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out with his strong hand and powerful arm (Deuteronomy 5:15 NLT).
God rescued the Israelites from slavery in a dramatic way with signs and wonders, and opening up the sea so they passed through on dry land. They were especially happy, praising and thanking God for what he had done.
They sang and danced exuberantly before God—full of gratitude.
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
“I will sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea.
“The Lord is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.
Exodus 15:1-2
However, soon they forgot.
Their gratitude turned to grumbling. Again and again, they grumbled against Moses and Aaron. They even said “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us (Deuteronomy 1:27).
Psalm 106:25 says: “They grumbled in their tents.”
The image of people shuffling around in the dimness and darkness of their tents, whinging and whining with dissatisfaction at what they had to put with and what they didn’t have, makes me raise my eyebrows but also ponder their shortsightedness.
“Grumbling in their tents” gives a picture of what it’s like to peer at the small things instead of stepping outside and opening our eyes to take in the wider landscape.
How easy it is for us to grumble when we focus on what is right in front of us instead of letting our minds think about the bigger picture of God’s goodness and what he has done in saving us to have a life that is, overall, full and wonderful.
God rescues you and me individually through the wondrous and powerful act of giving his Son so that we might be saved. Our faith in Jesus Christ means we have a life that is full and fulfilling. Often our individual stories of how God, through Jesus, has saved us are dramatic and powerful.
Today, remember what God has did for you when you decided to believe in Jesus and ask him into your life. And if you do not know this life that Jesus offers. Make this day one to remember.
Jesus said this:
I tell you the truth: eternal life belongs to those who hear My voice and believe in the One who sent Me. These people have no reason to fear judgment because they have already left death and entered life (John 5:24 VOICE).
Remembering how God has saved us makes us grateful and stops us from grumbling too.
Take a moment to look back and remember how God rescued you. Remember what he has done. Write it down and share your gratitude.