Remember

Pastor of Youth & Young Adults, Karl Helvig

REMEMBER:

Last Sunday we talked about remembering. 

We REMEMBER what God has done 

so we can TESTIFY to his work.

We REMEMBER the past 

so we can ENVISION the future.

If you were there, thanks for joining us! I hope you have found a place to testify (to share your story with others) about God's work in your life.

But today I want to talk about a different kind of memory. While some memories are sources of strength and encouragement and testimony, other memories are wounds. Other memories do not strengthen, but drain.  We all have memories that are like weights on our shoulders.

What are some of your memories that weigh you down?

More importantly,

what do we do with these painful memories?  What do we do with our wounds from the past?

I have one simple suggestion that I truly pray is strength and blessing to you.

Let God heal them.

I was talking to a friend just the other day and he shared something that has been rolling around my mind since our conversation.  He shared about how God has been healing some of his memories.

God was healing his memories.  Really?  Is that something God does?

He went on to describe something that was as beautiful as it was simple.  He said that a number of memories from his past had been coming over and over to his mind.  He shared about serious wounds from his past.  He shared about some experiences that still hurt today.  Then he said he has been inviting Jesus into those moments.

He invited Jesus into his memories.

Hearing that, I realized some of my habits surrounding painful memories: I ignore them, I let them hurt, I forget them, I hide them, I pretend they don't hurt that bad, I tell myself I can just deal with them, I tell myself it's just the past.... the list goes on. 

I do a lot of things with my painful memories, but I don't often invite Jesus into them.  I especially don't invite him into the most painful memories.  Those are the ones I most regularly ignore or conceal.

I try to invite Jesus into my days, I try to follow him with my life, but I don't invite him into memories.  And let me get specific here.  I think there is healing to be found in letting those memories come fresh into our minds (not rejecting them or pushing them away or minimizing them but vividly re-experiencing them) and then specifically asking Jesus to be THERE, to enter into THAT PLACE.  There is even a longChristian tradition for allowing ourselves to IMAGINE Jesus himself walking into the scenes in our minds.  This is not just fantasizing or manipulating our minds.  It's taking seriously the promise of Jesus to be with us always. We can pray, "Jesus, be with me in this memory.  Be present with me both now and then."  Then let your mind see Jesus physically present in the scene in your memory.

Is there a wound from your past that still hurts: it comes back, it repeats itself, it hasn't gone away for years?  If so, consider inviting Jesus into that memory.

I will not guarantee that an exercise like this will immediately erase all pain or scaring from the past.  But I do believe that we serve a healing God who desires us to bring more of ourselves to more of him.  Join me in bringing your memories to Jesus.

Let us be a people who walk with Jesus in EVERYTHING WE REMEMBER so hopefully we can walk with him into EVERYTHING WE PRESENTLY LIVE.

Grace and Peace,

Karl