Remembering is an essential part of thanksgiving. A forgetful person is someone who most likely struggles with ingratitude as well. And while you cannot give thanks for what you do not remember, there is a deeper meaning to the act of remembering than simply storing and recalling bits of information.
As we come through another Thanksgiving holiday, learning how to remember and forget rightly will cultivate the rich heart-soil where gratitude and the grace that accompanies it can grow in all the various weather conditions of life.
Remembering that Leads to Gratitude
In Psalm 25, we find King David asking Yahweh to remember, and what he asks him to remember first is striking. He asks God to remember Himself.
Remember your mercy, O YAHWEH, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
Psalm 25:6
If we are to understand what it means for us to remember, we must first look at what it means for the Triune God Himself to remember. It is significant that David calls upon the name of Yahweh. This is God’s memorial name as revealed to Moses from the burning bush.
Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, “Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.
Exodus 3:13-15
Therefore, to call upon the name of Yahweh is to call upon the God who is. His name perfectly encompasses and reflects His character. And His character is perfectly expressed in His acts. David understood this. David believed this with his whole heart. He knew that God’s remembering is a commitment to act. Yahweh sets before Himself the reality of who He is and responds in a way consistent with that reality. His name is a memorial name.
