The Beauty of Memory

"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” 1 Sam. 7:12

The vision of past things is not a vision of old things; they are made new in the light of memory. It is like the difference between passing through a valley at night… and looking down from its brow in the morning. Then we see the way the Lord led through the darkness. Then we see the pits and cliffs avoided. And places believed barren, now appear as scenes of beauty. The morning light transforms landscapes that were once dark into verdant fields. Crosses pressed upon the soul in the wilderness transform into exceeding weights of glory. Almost with surprise, we exclaim, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us."

One irony of the Lord’s ways is His glory in our darkest hour. And in them, we find more than faith promised; we see faith realized. Faith that the wilderness will never be our rest, but the portal to it. Therefore, my memory is a fresh prompting of my future. And while the LORD has not allowed the believer to see the hereafter, He has allowed us to behold the hitherto’s. And the hitherto’s are glorious to each of His children for different reasons. No vision of future glory could be more wondrous, more divine, than the sight of past help. Why else do those around the Throne cry out even now, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” (Rev. 5:12) Worthy, why? Because they remember how the Lord helped them. Don’t ask me the details, but they do.

So, believer, let us raise a monument to the glory of our past. Let us build it from the despised stones kicked by the wayside, and write on them the record of Christ’s guiding love…"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us."

May the LORD richly bless you in 2023!