Memory. The longer I do ministry the more I have come to see the correlation between spiritual growth and memory. Worship is grounded in the remembering and rehearsing of the deeds of God. Gratitude, patience, and generosity are all connected to remembering when we ourselves were without. Humility, the chief of all virtues is only possible if we remember where we have come from and ourselves at our worst. Mission is anchored in remembering the poor and the lost, and the burning heart that God has for them. Faith is built by remembering the times that God has come through for us, and fear and doubt is all rooted in forgetting the same events. Even friendship is build upon memory. We experience intimacy because we remember each other, and what we have walked through together. In that way forgetting is the great enemy of our souls. Even forgetting our mistakes is, well, a mistake. How can we honor the work that God has done in and through us in this week of fasting? We have to refuse to forget. We have to plan to remember. I would encourage each of you to take the time to write out some of your experience, and some of what God has taught you or called you to. Maybe you can share that tonight when you break your fast together with friends or family. Maybe it is something you can do after the fast has ended.
Maybe take a minute to comment on the blog about your experience so that we can all read it. or at least log it into your journal and share it with a few trusted friends.
I am confident that as we have sought God’s face, he has noticed. That as we have drawn near to him he has drawn near to us. I am proud of all of you who have made it through, and for each of you who even just tried to fast for the first time. It is really not that spiritually impressive, but like a child taking their first steps, our Father is certainly pleased.
