LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD Part 6 “Memorials” By Rayola Kelley

In looking back over my past five articles when it comes to advancing in my spiritual journey, it becomes evident that I have long ago let go of most of my past to avoid longing for what will never be in the present, miss what was not beneficial or become sentimental over something that is not realistic (Luke 9:62). I don’t kid myself about my past as to how good or bad it was. Like most people’s past, it is a combination of the good, the not so pleasant times and the bad. I am aware that my memories of yesteryears are quite select based on how they impacted me emotionally and what impressions they made on my soul. However, the mosaic of my past now reveals the decisions I made about life and the choices that form my character, define my person and establish some type of moral compass in me. When I travel the old familiar lane of past memories, surrounding events and happenings that are locked away in the attic of the recesses of my mind, I look back to see what memorial was left behind during those times.

When you follow the children of Israel through the wilderness, you can see where they left some type of memorial behind them. At times they were instructed to remember God’s instructions, Law, events or where they had witnessed His mighty intervention on their behalf. As in the case of Moses, we see an altar with the Lord’s name attached to an event and a promise in Exodus 17:14-16.

We leave some type of memorial behind, but like the children of Israel the memorial for the Christian is not about their accomplishments but about God’s great work in their life and on their behalf. If God does not touch, bless, or approve of something, it will be taken with the winds of time. In fact, one of the meanings of “vanity” points to the concept of a matter proving insignificant like chaff, eventually thrown up in the air and taken away by the wind, ending in vexation of spirit.

Each memorial marks the touch of eternity upon my life in some way. These memorials can mark a turning point in my life, a valuable lesson learned, a special event, an experience that resulted in spiritual growth, or a point of separation. As I share my walk of faith, I find myself visiting these memorials, remembering what God did at that time and place that later allowed me the opportunity to encourage, exhort, or challenge others. The key to memorials is that they are those places where a greater testimony of God’s great intervention was established in stone.

This stone served as an altar where something was offered up. It is founded on the immutable Rock and can’t be moved by the winds of time. However, we must pause and come back to the memorial by remembering the mark of grace God left upon our life at that time.

In one of our Friday morning Bible Studies, we talked about the one small opening where something of the Lord impacted our lives with that bit of knowledge or revelation that ended in the saving of our souls. One individual shared how the open door for them was Bible teachings at Sunday School on flannel boards. In a sense the figures on that board came to life leaving an indelible impression on her tender soul. For another one, there was the great grandmother who was an evangelist to children in her neighborhood, played the organ and supported missionaries in far away places. Another person shared that the greatest impact in her life was the moment she knew that God loved her just for who she was and not based on what others touted she needed to be or needed to do. For me it was Corrie Ten Boom’s book, The Hiding Place. Granted, before Corrie’s book I had passing glimpses of something mysterious and special when it came to God who, for me, was very abstract. However, Corrie’s book struck a flame in my heart that would not be quenched until I came to the knowledge of God’s great love for me and His great work to redeem me.

These are the types of memorials I am referring to that should be gracing our lives. Examples that became part of that great cloud of witnesses Hebrews 12:1 talks about. Teachings that either cut deep into our soul to show us our need and our true hope, or they bring comfort and healing to a wounded heart, a troubled soul, or a lean spirit. There are those revelations of the Lord that allow one to come to a place of rest by faith after being involved in various wrestling matches with the flesh, endless irritations in life, and the ongoing brushes with the enemy. These revelations lift one up in the Spirit to soar above the entanglements of this life to gain greater perspective or cause one to be overwhelmed by the heights of His glory (Isaiah 40:28-31; Luke 4:18; Hebrews 3:18-19; 4:12).

We never know what will impact a person’s soul, but it will be personal and become part of the landscape of the incredible mosaic that God is creating in our inner man. In my immaturity, I imagined that there must be great things happening to impact the soul, but I have since learned it is not the parting of the Red Sea, but the burning bush out in the barren wilderness that causes us to personally step aside and consider the outreached arms and invitation of Jesus. It is amid God’s consuming reality that our calling is established and our destiny defined. The situation may seem, for the most part, natural to us, but His presence in that moment causes us to stop, His voice draws us close to hear what is being said, and the witness of it clearly reveals that it is unseen, supernatural, and eternal. You can never really walk away from it the same. A seed was planted, marching orders were given, the direction pointed out, and destiny set in stone. At that point you know that nothing will be the same, but at the same time you know a memorial has been established (Exodus 3:1-15).

The number of memorials in your life will be determined by your walk of faith (2 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11:6). True faith does not leave one immune to the giants of testing, the formidable mountains of challenge, the deep dark valleys of defeat, and the narrow canyons of despair for it is out of such situations that memorials are established. For example, how many of you have established an altar to commemorate a time of fun? We may enjoy fun for a season, but eventually we look elsewhere for another place of fun. Enjoyable experiences are at times appreciated, but rarely memorialized.

We must visit these spiritual memorials from time to time to meditate on that which brought awe to the heart, inspired worship and endured the trials with integrity intact. Once we remember, we can stand on the promise of God and know that in His love and faithfulness that our life in Him will never be taken by the storms and tumultuous waves of the age we presently live in (John 10:27-29; Hebrews 13:5).

Just the other day I started to visit some of those memorials. I was remembering a time when the Lord mightily intervened in my life from miraculously providing what seemed impossible to preserving me through very difficult and challenging times. Each time my faith was tried, it seemed I was brought to the abyss of being consumed by the darkness and the circumstances. It became clear that it was only by the grace of God that He delivered me, but not before my faith was tested, but kept intact, refined and enlarged (1 Peter 1:5-9).

Just today I was sharing some of my memorials with another person. We were enjoying fellowshipping on the Bread of Life (John 6:35). She is an 87-year-old saint that has witnessed much through her life from great losses such as her husband, to choosing to stand firm on the Rock and continue to move forward, knowing she may not know what this life holds for her, but she knows the promises attached to the next life to come.

The key to surviving such times is found in the book of Job. Job knew his faith was being tried but that it would come forth as pure gold (Job 23:10). He made this favorite declaration in Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” It is choosing to trust the Lord regardless of how hopeless, insane or impossible a matter appears. We must trust God is able to deliver us in the storms, be assured that He is faithful to walk through the storms with us, and know without a doubt He will bring us to the other side of the test into His bright light so we can take courage the next time we see a terrible storm looming on the horizon.

I have watched people struggle with their past. There are reasons why some never let go of the past, and others use it as an excuse for their destructive ways. Upon examination it is once again confirmed to us that we often operate from select memories and when we share it with those who were also part of the event, it sounds like new happenings to them because they have a different view of it.

This is true for our spiritual life. When we are born again, as our inner man begins to be renewed from within and our mind is being transformed, we will have a different perspective on our past and how we judge present matters. After all, we are new creations with a whole new lease on life. The Lord is our great Physician and He knows how to heal broken hearts, wounded spirits, tormented minds, and raw emotions (John 3:3, 5; Luke 4:18; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:23; Philippians 1:6).

People’s personal memories can cause conflict because in a person’s mind their take on it is the only correct perspective. We see this conflict when it comes to the New Testament. Oftentimes we think we are reading some contradiction in the Gospels because the facts surrounding the incident seem to vary with each witness, when in reality the real principle and teachings remain the same, but the eyewitness is seeing it from a different angle. Like all angles it changes what we see, how we see it and what we actually hear.

This brings us back to remembering. God is always telling His people to remember some aspect about their life in Him (Numbers 15:39; Deuteronomy 32:7; 1 Chronicle 16:12; Psalm 20:7; 105:5; 143:5; Ecclesiastes 11:8; 12:1). To “remember” something is a choice. It points to stopping at the now, connecting with the past and being prepared to go forward with greater awareness. This reminds us that in our spiritual journey we must come back to certain places to simply sit awhile and remember how God moved on our behalf, how God heard us and how faithful He was to meet us.

We need to know looking back will never change anything, but realistically taking the lessons of the past, the present moments of the now and looking forward gives us the opportunity to discover where God is leading us. Yes, the uncertainty of the unknown before us is unnerving but we can’t stay in limbo between the past and the future.

The present moves with time and will not allow us to remain at some halfway mark that appears we are making attempts to go forward, while running around and remaining stagnant in our growth because we can’t let go of some aspect of the past. Such a mark will remind us that a place of remembrance is not a dwelling place but a springboard, a point of inspiration, and a place of getting one’s bearing and refreshment for the soul. Regardless of where memorials are located in our life, they remind us we can’t stay in the barren wilderness of preparation, the misty flats of compromise, the plateaus of wishful thinking that never ascend or descend, the narrow paralyzing ledges of fear, or the marshland of silly sentimental nonsense.

For the Christian the memorial of the past will always remind us of redemption and justification. The present reveals the ongoing work of God’s Spirit to prepare us for experiencing the fullness of His glory in the future. True faith is about moving forward towards one’s true life and destiny. It is about trusting the unseen, while focusing on the heavenly. It is about learning what it means to possess the eternal, ever moving from glory to glory while reaching up for the ultimate prize. It is about walking in the present with confidence that our Lord directs our steps, preserves our ways, and is ever preparing us to enter into the fullness of His promises and His everlasting majesty (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).