ODJ: remember

December 29, 2013 

READ: Psalm 105:1-5 

Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done (v.1).

Last week I took my adopted son Wasswa and his buddy Joseph (whom my friends adopted from Ethiopia) to the beach where I grew up in Florida. Watching the boys as they splashed in the gulf, played in the sand and curiously poked at a dead jellyfish that had washed up on the shore, I marvelled at God’s work in their lives.

Both boys had traumatic beginnings. By the age of four, while living in an impoverished village in Uganda, Wasswa had lost his mum, dad, twin brother and seven of his nine aunts and uncles. Joseph was abandoned and found near a river as a baby.

By God’s grace the boys survived and are now a tangible expression of Psalm 105:5, “Remember the wonders [God] has performed, his miracles and the rulings he has given.” I’ve applied this verse to the boys’ lives:

God’s wonderful works: the Lord orchestrated my meeting an orphaned child on the side of a road in Uganda. And He led my friends to Ethiopia on behalf of Joseph.

God’s miracles: Wasswa and Joseph are both alive and healthy.

The judgements He handed down: A Ugandan judge ruled that I am now Wasswa’s mother. An Ethiopian judge appointed my friends as Joseph’s parents. Indeed, “O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them” (Psalm 40:5).

When challenges come and I struggle to walk by faith, I’m hugely encouraged to think of these boys and remember what God has done. By reflecting on God’s past provisions, I (and you) will grow in trust and more aptly proclaim His good and faithful deeds. —Roxanne Robbins

MORE
At a time when you felt your “life was slipping away” (Jonah 2:7), how did remembering God bring you comfort and hope? 
NEXT
Call a friend and list, between the two of you, at least three ways you’ve seen God work and provide for you in the last two weeks (Psalm 143:5). How has God’s goodness in the past strengthened your faith today?