Remembrance, when applied to God in the scriptures, is never in the sense of a recollection of things forgotten, for it is impossible for God to forget in a literal sense. Rather, we see in scripture that God “remembers” in the sense of bringing to pass an awaited exercise of His will, whether to bring good or to bring calamity. So we read in one place that God remembered Noah, causing the floodwaters to subside so that he might again live on the land (Gen 8:1); but we read in another that He remembered the sins of Judah, visiting His judgment upon them (Jer 14:10). Here, Nehemiah earnestly requested of God to remember him for good; that is, to bring blessing upon him for his endeavors to faithfully serve God and lead God’s people. Such a request is not inconsistent with a salvation that is entirely of God’s grace, for the renewed heart that calls upon God for salvation also calls upon God for blessing in the midst of serving Him. Consider some ways in which we, with Nehemiah, need the remembrance of God.

We need God’s remembrance to sustain us and provide for us. The Lord is the giver of life, breath, and all things (Acts 17:25). He is the creator and sustainer of all, and none live apart from His will and provision. Is our need of His remembrance not evident? We are creatures, but He is our creator; we are weak, but He is the source of all strength; we are dependent, but He is the supplier of every need. If we would rightly judge, we would see our total dependence upon Him in every circumstance of life. Is there any moment in which we do not require His sustaining and preserving power? Is not every heartbeat a decision of life or death in His hands? Does not our every circumstance in a fallen world require His provision and protection? Yes, all creatures, whether man or beast, are completely dependent upon Him. “The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:15-16). And does He only supply the bare necessities? Has He not given an abundance to His creatures? As Paul told the Lycaonians, “He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). Some, owing to the pride of fallen human nature, would seek to deny these truths. But the denial does not change the reality, and whether acknowledged or not, the remembrance of God is the cause of all provision and blessing. And how merciful He is in His remembrance! Though He sees the sin and rebellion of humanity, He nevertheless remembers us. “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt 5:45). He is mindful that we are but dust (Psalm 103:14). He knows our every need, and provides for mankind as the chief of His creation. “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matt 6:26). But the privilege ought never to be taken as an entitlement, and therefore, we always ought to humbly pray, “give us this day our daily bread” (Matt 6:11).

We need God’s remembrance to fulfill the desires of our hearts. The proper application of true religion, rather than removing all desires of the heart, changes and conditions them, making them to be in proper degree and according to what God declares to be good. Such desires God does not despise, and examples of His remembrance of His people abound. Hannah deeply desired a child, but the Lord had closed her womb. In her deep distress, she called upon God to remember her and grant her a son (1 Sam 1:9)-“and the Lord remembered her” (1 Sam 1:19). In His great mercy and condescending love, the Lord heard her prayer and gave her the desire of her heart. He did not despise her tears, nor did He rebuke her in her distress. And could Hannah have the desire of her heart without the intervention of God? Can the womb be opened without the Lord’s blessing? And is this not also true with every other desire of life? Can there be marriage if God does not join together? Can loved ones come to know God apart from His work in the heart? Can we build the house unless the Lord build it? So we also see that God remembered His promise to Abraham and gave him Isaac, the child of promise. He remembered Hezekiah, adding fifteen years to his life when he wept and prayed, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” (2 Kings 20:3). And scripture makes it clear that He not only remembers us in personal blessing, but in His blessing of others on our behalf. So it was that when God overthrew Sodom that he spared Lot’s life in remembrance of Abraham (Gen 19:29); and the Lord himself healed the paralytic when he saw the faith of those carrying him (Mark 2:5). Therefore, God’s people have boldness to pray, “Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old” (Psalm 25:6).

But there can be times in life when we feel forgotten, even forgotten by God, and few feelings in life are more painful. We may labor for what is good-sometimes for many years-and see so little apparent fruit. We may cry out to God for the desires of our hearts but see them unfulfilled. The sorrow and the pain can make us cry with David, “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart daily?” (Psalm 13:1-2). And there are those peculiar times in life when not just one thing, but many things assail us, and with Jacob, we are quick to cry, “All these things are against me.”; and with Jeremiah we say, “My strength and my hope have perished from the Lord” (Lam 3:18).

But God is the answer to every condition and trial in life, and such hardships of life only make us more acutely aware of something that is true at all times-that we greatly need the remembrance of God. We need His loving eyes to look upon us in mercy. In those times, we can say to Him, “Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall” (Lam 3:19). We can cry with Job, “Oh, remember that my life is a breath! …Remember, I pray, that You have made me like clay” (Job 7:7, 10:9). Why do we speak this way? -Because we know that God alone is the source of all that is good, and if we would know good, it will only be by His hand. It is not to remind Him of what He already knows but to plead for His blessing because of what He knows. And is He not working all things together for good to those who love Him? (Rom 8:28). He uses even the trials of life for our good, for they wean us from the things of this world to find in Him our ultimate good. And if trials cause us to draw closer to Him, can those trials not be viewed as working for good in the greatest sense? Nor does He ever leave us alone. His eyes look to and fro throughout the earth so that He may strongly support those whose heart is His (2 Chr 16:9). His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour, and He will accomplish His purposes in us. Though His people may sometimes feel forgotten, He cannot forget them, and in the end His works will always prove that they have been done in remembrance of them; and whether deliverance comes in this age or in the age to come, it surely will come. “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Isaiah 49:14).

In our next consideration, we will look at the greatest way in which we need the remembrance of God.