When “Remembering” Doesn’t Seem to Be Enough

OR
When I Am Afraid I’m depending Too Much on Others
As If God Isn’t Enough

Psalm 77 has long been one of my favorite Psalms. Opening with a desperate cry to God for help, the writer pleads to be heard.  Losing hope, he wonders “How long, Lord, how long.”  Finding comfort elusive, in desperation he says, “I will remember the deeds of the LORD:  I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

Hope returns.  He is comforted. The chapter that began with lament turns to a psalm of praise for God’s leading, his protection and guidance.

I have found comfort in this Psalm over the years. I have believed the truth of remembering. To remember we need to record God’s activity in our daily lives. I did this. I taught others to do the same.

So why didn’t it work for me anymore – to “remember the deeds of the Lord” and then praise him as I remembered what he has done. The changes and challenges seemed too hard, too big. And by this time I knew things don’t always “work out” – whatever that meant. (By the way, please don’t say “it will work out” to those walking in the dark; it minimizes the grief and pain they are experiencing.)

I wished for more faith, felt guilty I didn’t seem to have it. I leaned hard on my friends. They prayed for me when I could not. They believed for me when I did not. They hugged me when I was sad, while encouraging me to embrace the grief and not run from it.  My younger pastor friend, who was the age of my brother read everything I wrote, encouraging me to share my story with others and offered to let me be his sister. (I forthwith adopted him). Others spoke encouraging words to me, when I was so unsure of myself. One had lost her brother and I knew she knew. They offered no easy answers, because there were none.

They were God to me – God with skin. Yet the question remained, why couldn’t I remember what God had done for me in the past and have it be enough?

And then I noticed the last verse.  I had read it many times before, but this time I saw something new:


“Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron” Ps. 77:19-20

God led them. He did great deeds.

And . .   

God’s leading included the people he sent to them.

Suddenly it all fell into place. Instead of feeling shame at the niggling thought I should have been more faith-filled, not so dependent on others, I read with gratefulness this reminder – even thousands of years ago, using others was one of God’s ways of meeting the needs of his people.

We are not meant to walk this faith journey alone. We need each other. We bear one another’s burdens. We were created for community, for connection with others.

When we remember what God has done and it doesn’t seem enough, let us remember that the “deeds of the Lord” include the resources he has given us and often those resources include people.

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linking with:  Kelly Chripczuk and “Small Wonders”  Community

15 Replies to “When “Remembering” Doesn’t Seem to Be Enough”

  1. Carol,
    Your words have ministered to me today. Thank you for being one of God’s friends to me. May God continue to use you to bless and encourage others… and you in your writing..((hugs))

    1. Good to have you here Dolly, and so grateful these words spoke to you today. I never know who else will need what I needed. and I am always glad to hear from them when that happens.

  2. Thanks for being one of my God-given peeps! Am so thankful for you and your heart and that you’re willing to share it with me and others! God is the source, with all the resources! Making Him ENOUGH for all! Love you, friend!

  3. What an important reminder. And, thank God for those God-in-the-flesh people who walk beside us. Sometimes, also, I think it’s hard to remember because we’re being led into something new; sometimes it feels like the new level of belief must surely be different than what God provided in the past. Thanks for linking, Carol.

  4. Your heart-words remind me once again of the glory and the value of relationships that encourage … and last the test of time.

    And most of all, that supreme love we have with our Redeemer.

    Thanks for sharing this special Psalm with us, Carol. So good to see you again …

    1. Linda, I’m still here, just not worrying about schedules or timelines for posting. It feels good to post when something is ready and I am sure you get that too:). I always like it when you show up here.

    1. Marlene, Thanks for stopping by here and letting me know you visited and you resonated with this. I spent a lovely day with those two grandsons of yours last weekend. Hope to see you back here again. The thing about blogging is you never know who is reading and since I love connection, it is nice when people stop by.

    1. Thank You for visiting here, Jenny. I have been over at your site and it sounds like there is a book I need to read. I’ll be following up on that. What a God we serve.

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