My daughter Coco’s birthday will always be special, not just because she’s so sweet, but because it’s the last time I saw my Dad alive.
We didn’t know that when Coco blew out the candles on her first birthday that it would be the last time we’d all be together. I didn’t realise that when I said goodbye to Dad, as he and my mum left our house, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, that it would be the last goodbye.
5 days after that special day he passed away, and Wednesday, the 6th, will mark 2 years since he’s been gone.
Life has been a mixture of ups and downs, of slow days and fast ones, of wondering why I’m crying at the most random times, of celebrating birthdays and milestones, of fears for the future and navigating transitions. Yet in this washing machine of emotions, the steady hand of God has kept me. He continually nudges me towards remembering all of the ways he has shown his care and love in the past. When I remember God’s faithfulness in my life over the years I can trust that his plan is good. Despite what I may experience in all the many circumstances of life, when I look back, I see that God’s love has never failed. It endures forever.
Psalm 136 begins with “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever”.
What follows are 26 accounts of God’s faithfulness towards Israel over the generations, followed by 26 refrains of “for his steadfast love endures forever.” It is tempting to skip over the refrain, but don’t. The repetition serves as a reminder. The 26 acts of God’s enduring love remind us that in all situations and circumstances, God is good, and his steadfast love endures forever. These 26 events in the lives of the Israelites point towards the goodness of God. The Psalm retells significant events in Israel’s history, not all of which were happy or joyous. Remember Israel crossing the Red Sea? The Israelites were terrified. The psalmist recalls that God “made Israel pass through the midst of it” v14. The psalmist acknowledges that God has been their immovable anchor throughout their history.
“It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and rescued us from our foes,” v 23-24.
In Psalm 136 we see a picture of how remembering God’s steadfast love in life’s ups and downs shapes a response of praise. Praise for the unshakeable love of God redirects our gaze toward Him. The 26 refrains of God’s enduring, steadfast love are a beautiful reminder that our circumstances do not need to dictate our response to God.
We need reminding because we are so prone to forgetting God’s steadfast love. We move quickly from forgetfulness to bitterness, doubting God’s goodness. When we look back over our lives, maybe even just this past month or year, we can easily pluck out the parts that were sad or hard, messy and ugly. Sometimes we’d rather forget them and move on. But God would not have us forget the hardships and trials on our path but, rather, remember that His faithfulness was present throughout.
The writer of Lamentations speaks of this remembering in Lamentations 3: 19-23
“Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
Despite his circumstances, the writer could have hope, because he remembered that God’s unshakeable love lasts for eternity. It doesn’t have an expiry based on our performance and it will never reach its end.
When the mixture of feelings starts to surface around the time of my sweet daughter’s birthday, I am reminded that joy and sadness can and do coexist. I can reflect on the year gone by, and even though my Dad is no longer here to see my girls get older, I can see the good and gracious hand of God in all the parts of my life. His ever-present love is in both the mourning and the dancing, the sorrow and the joy. He is weaving the story of his faithfulness through my days and cultivating in me a heart of gratitude, rather than grumbling.
When our view of God’s goodness becomes blurred by circumstances, take a moment to remember. Remember, and remember again, “he is good, and his steadfast love endures forever.”
A beautiful reminder and one that can easily be forgotten in times of trial and stress 💕