Last night at church, my pastor said something that stuck with me, “Who remembers what a broken mess they were when they found Jesus? And how quickly we forget.”
Then I opened to Nehemiah 9 this morning, and it felt like that same thought just kept going. The people had heard the Word in chapter 8, and now they were looking back over their story. They remembered Abraham, Egypt, the Red Sea, the wilderness, the Promised Land, all of it. The good, the bad and the really messy. And we've been reading through this story right along with them. We've seen God rescue them and then watched them complain. We've watched Him provide and then watched them wander. We've probably all had moments reading these books where we've thought, Seriously, God JUST did that for you. How did you forget already?
But then I think about what my pastor said.
How quickly we forget. Because I can do the exact same thing. “But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them.” Nehemiah 9:17
That was Israel's story.
And when I look back over my own life, it's mine too. Sometimes when I'm standing in the middle of something God has called me to build, all I can see is today's rubble. The prayer that hasn't been answered yet. The door that hasn't opened. The part I still don't understand. Or the section that still needs work.
I can get so focused on what God hasn't done yet that I forget about everything He's already done. But when I stop and look behind me, I remember. There are prayers I once cried over that He answered. Doors I didn't understand Him closing that make perfect sense now. Times He redirected me when I was sure I knew where I was going. Times He provided, protected, corrected, carried and forgave me. And then I remember the broken mess I was when Jesus found me.
Not Pastor Mandy. Not the woman writing Bible studies and devotions. Not the woman building ministry and encouraging everybody else to keep putting stones on their wall.
Just me. Broken, needing Jesus.
And you know what, I still need Him just as much today.
That's why I don't want to forget where He found me. Remembering doesn't just give me courage for what's ahead, it keeps me humble in where I am now. Israel wasn't looking back saying, Look how amazing we were. Their story was actually pretty messy. They were taking a moment to say Look how faithful God was even when we weren't.
And that's my testimony too.
My testimony isn't really about how strong I was or how well I pulled myself together.
It's about how faithful He was. And remembering our own brokenness changes how we see the broken people standing in front of us too. It's a lot harder to look down on somebody else's mess when I remember how much grace it took to meet me in mine.
So today, before we worry about the next stone or stare too long at the rubble still in front of us let's remember.
Remember where He found us.
Remember what He's carried us through.
Remember the prayers He's already answered.
Remember the grace He's already given us.
Not so we can live in the past, but so we don't forget Who God has been through every part of it. Because the same God who was faithful there is still faithful here.
And the same Jesus who met us in our brokenness is still rebuilding us today.
Love Pastor Mandy
Daily reading Nehemiah 9
MandiesDandies / Ark of Hope
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