The God Who Remembers
It is probably one of the strongest visceral responses to scripture I've ever had. I was reading the story of Joseph - for the millionth time, I'm sure - and just trying to hear what the Lord might speak. And then came a sucker punch straight to my spiritual gut:
"Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him."
One brief sentence that closes out Genesis 40. Eleven little words that completely bypassed my cerebral circuitry and overloaded my spiritual switchboard. I was physically bent over from the emotional jarring, afraid I was going to completely lose it over this simple fact:
They forgot him.
After all he did, after all his obedience, after all his integrity. Just. Plain. Forgot.
It wasn't that he was hated. Or reviled. Or ridiculed. He was so insignificant, so seemingly small in the grand scheme of things that he was simply forgotten. Didn't even muster so much as a thank you.
That. Sucks.
Few things in life bear the emotional turmoil of feeling (or actually being) forgotten. I know because I've been there. Do what you want to me. Hate me and laugh at me (to quote Tim Rice…) but, dear heavens, please don't just forget me.
Yet God would have His way and His say in the matter.
God did not forget. Actually, the Word says He remembered. "To remember" in Hebrew is zachar. (That may sound familiar - and it should. It's where the name Zechariah comes from. His name means, "The Lord Remembers.")
And then came revelation. (The second half of the one-two punch…)
"And the Lord remembered…" It's a powerful and poignant statement.
There's plurality in the Hebrew we often miss in English. In Hebrew, thought carries implied action. (For example, to hear also means to obey. They are synonymous. But that's a different lesson…)
It's not that the Lord literally forgot; not like I forget items on my shopping list or why I walked into the kitchen. Things don't fall out of the Lord's head. To say the Lord remembered carries the meaning that He is about to do something.
Every time scripture says the Lord "remembered," He was about to act on the behalf of whomever is being discussed.
The Israelites in Egypt. Hannah with Samuel. The Lord remembered…and then He moved.
We live in a world that easily forgets. You can do all the right things - and get left in the dust. Life doesn’t unfold as expected or go as planned. In some cases, it takes some downright painful turns. (I venture dear Joseph & Co felt the same way in their journeys as well…)
It can be tempting to think God's forgotten us. To feel like we, like Joseph, have been tossed in the pit like and left to wither away in some shallow existence.
But the Lord does remember.
He remembers and moves on our behalf.
God remembered - and delivered the Israelites from Egypt. He remembered - and opened Hannah’s womb. He remembered - and Joseph ended up Pharaoh’s right-hand man.
Whatever you may be facing today, our Lord has not forgotten you. To the contrary, He remembers. He neither slumbers nor sleeps. And He sure as heck isn't absent minded or suffering from memory loss.
We can rest assured knowing He sees, He hears, He knows and He moves.
Find comfort in this…the Lord Remembers.
Michelle Lynn Nipp
I believe God wrote a wondrous story – His story – to capture the hearts and minds of all His creation. My passion is sharing this story! Through word studies, bible teaching and other resources, I want to see you experience the absolute awesomeness and wonder of history’s greatest story, the Bible.