Lest We Forget

On 6 June 1944 Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches, launching the biggest seaborne invasion in history. This pivotal moment in World War II marked the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe. The D-Day landings were a bloody affair, and each year we take time to stop and remember the immense courage and sacrifice displayed by the Allied forces, in their fight for freedom and democracy.
 
D-Day stands as a stark testament to the sacrifices made on those Normandy beaches. Their courage paved the way for the triumph of freedom and democracy, a legacy which we inherit today with immense gratitude.
 
Woven throughout the scriptures are God's gentle reminders, urging us too to pause and reflect, to look back over the course of our lives, and to ponder all that He has done. You see, God doesn't just want us to know His deeds, He wants us to actively remember them. To stop and to meditate on all His acts of salvation.
 
Deuteronomy offers us a powerful example of this. Standing on the edge of the Promised Land, after 40 long years in the wilderness, Moses imparts his final words of wisdom and instruction to the Israelites before his death. He recounts their journey to date, remembering God's unwavering faithfulness, giving testament both to His promises fulfilled and the many blessings and promises yet to come.
 
Looking back Moses reminds them … 

The Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son … The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast desert. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.
(Deuteronomy 1:31;2:7)

‘Selah’ - a moment to pause and to praise. To breathe in the immensity of their journey so far. A journey woven with both hardships and miracles, highs and lows, and now finding themselves on the precipice of entering the long-awaited Promised Land, with the prospect of a new leader at the helm, the weight of Moses' words must have settled heavily upon them.
 
We too need these moments in our lives. Moments of Selah - Lest we Forget amid the ups and downs, the highs and lows of our lives, the unwavering faithfulness of God. Lest we forget that whatever our current outward circumstances may appear, we serve a good and faithful God, who never has and never will fail us. Who is always working all things for our good. (Romans 8:28)
 
By remembering how He has saved us in the past, we are strengthened in our faith for both the present and the future. The fuel we need to hold fast to His unwavering love and faithfulness, reminding us that ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble’ (Psalm 46:1), always present to guide us through any challenge.