“Redeeming Our Memories”

Meditation on Isaiah 43:1–7

January 13, 2013

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     “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.

      Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (Isaiah 43:1-7)

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      I visited with some of the area pastors this week at Pastor Dan’s house in Sacred Heart.  Pastor Dan served homemade barley tea simmering on his stove when we arrived and cowboy coffee cake he had just made that morning with flour he had freshly ground.  As I looked around the table at my fellow servants in the Lord, I thought again how grateful I am that I am not alone in this ministry to our communities.  And I marveled at how God is able to use this diverse group of people to work together for His Will.

       We are, after all, very different. I am often aware that I am not like other pastors I know and admire. Take for example preaching style.  I always have a written text when I step into the pulpit, but I know that Pastor Tom and Pastor Dean don’t preach that way.  The writing of the sermon, for me, is part of my spiritual discipline and preparation for Sunday morning. Through meditation, prayer and writing, I hear from the Spirit. I learn what God is teaching me and wants me to share with others.

       I work slowly. I write a little, then make changes. I read aloud what I have written to make sure the words are pleasing to hear and easy to say. And I check to see if they speak what it is in my heart. I cut, cut, cut until I am satisfied that it is not too long and that my one key point is clear.

      I am hard on myself. Sometimes, after spending a whole day writing, I decide I don’t like my sermon. I throw it away!  I get up the next day and start again. 

     And during the time of meditating on scripture and writing, my mind is flooded with so many thoughts and memories. Some of these memories end up as sermon illustrations. But often these memories are just distracting or just plain painful. The stuff of bad dreams. Things I would rather forget.

     If I had my wish, I would do to my life what I do to my sermons each week—write and rewrite it, and cut, cut, cut until I am satisfied! Remove all the painful memories and stuff of bad dreams. Make it so they never happened.

     

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     But God, the author of all Creation, doesn’t work this way.  He doesn’t see us or our lives in the same critical light that we see ourselves. God our Heavenly Father is loving, gracious, and merciful.

    When I read Isaiah 43:1-7, the phrase, “For I have redeemed you” jumps out from the page. This is one of those passages that everyone should have in a handy place.  On a card in your wallet, a bookmark in your Bible. Or taped to the refrigerator door. Anyone who is going through a time of struggle or self-doubt should meditate on this passage, day and night.

     “Thus says the Lord, he who created you…he who formed you…Do not fear, for I have redeemed you!  I have called you by name.  You are mine!!!

     “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned….for I am the Lord your God…Your Savior…You are precious in my sight, and honored!

       “And I love you!”

       Listen! This isn’t a God who holds our sins against us! He formed us—he knows our weaknesses!  He has always been with us, so he knows our history. He is the one who redeemed us with the sacrifice of His own Son!

       When we read, “I have redeemed you,” hear also “I have forgiven you” and “I have healed you.” Because we are all wounded and in need of healing, whether we want to admit it or not. We are wounded by our own sin and from the sins of the world. The wounds go deep into our hearts and are etched on our minds. We all have regrets.   We would all like to cut, cut, cut away at our lives until all the painful stuff, the stuff of bad memories, has been removed.

      But this is how God’s redemption in Jesus Christ works: it is a healing of mind, body and soul.  It has already taken place, and it is still going on.  It is a process. And it is a God thing. We aren’t doing it!  We aren’t in charge or in control! We can’t remove the painful memories or keep painful things from happening again.  We live in a sinful, fallen world.

     That’s why the Lord says, “when you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you….Do not fear, for I am with you!”  

    We can’t heal ourselves or “fix” the past. But there is something we can do that will help us deal with our painful memories and be empowered with the grace to forgive. We can have faith in what God has done for us.  If we believe God has redeemed us—that we are forgiven and healed body, mind, and soul—then we can accept ourselves as loved and honored by God. We will know we are precious to Him!

     And when we believe that God is doing his redeeming work in us—in all of us—then we begin to see the signs of His redeeming work among us, including the redemption of our memories.  God will open our eyes to the truth and beauty of His redeeming love, and the Spirit will reveal to us things we have not yet seen or understood. Our stories will change with these new understandings. And we will be able to tell others how God was doing his loving work in and through our struggle and pain. He will show us how he was with us and brought others to help us when we thought our hearts would break and we were all alone in our despair.

       Our memories, with the Spirit’s transformation and healing work, will no longer be “bad.”  They will become part of our Christian testimony. A part of our redemption story! When God, in our weakness, showed Himself to be strong. When we finally had ears to hear Him saying to us,

     “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you!  I have called you by name.  You are mine!!!

     “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned….for I am the Lord your God…Your Savior…You are precious in my sight, and honored!

       “And I love you!”

Will you pray with me?

Holy Father, Loving Creator, thank you for seeing us as “precious” and “honored.”   Thank you for your promise of presence and protection from trials that may be ahead.  We thank you that you have forgiven us of all our sins and are healing us of all our wounds.  We ask that you give us grace and mercy so we may learn to forgive and love ourselves as the new creations in Christ that we are! Help us to be patient as we wait for your Spirit to reveal what we do not understand and show us how You will use the struggles of the past for your glory and your kingdom.  Restore our faith and open our eyes to your redeeming work among us. Help us to live not in the sadness or disappointments of the past, but instead as living testimonies of your love. In Christ we pray. Amen.