Dear Partner,
"Remember what the Lord your God has done". It's a phrase that is mentioned more than once in scripture. One Google search said there were 71 Bible verses that referenced "remembering". I looked at a number of them but couldn't find any that suggested complaining after remembering. I looked for whining but couldn't find that. One final search for anger after remembering, came up empty as well. These have been my go-to thoughts after remembering recently. Several weeks ago, my small group from church started going through a book by Jon Acuff called Soundtracks. One part early on in the book states this. "The good news is that you're bigger than your brain. It's just one part of you and it's under your control in the same way an arm or leg is." When I read that I thought to myself, that may be true but it seems a lot of days my brain has a mind of its own, but then I realized how stupid that was so I continued to read. "If you can worry, you can wonder. If you can doubt, you can dominate. If you can spin, you can soar." I loved that last line because so many nights at 3 AM I wake up with my mind spinning out of control with worry, doubt, fear, then back to worry, then over to fear then back to doubt again. This next line is good so I'm going to capitalize it and put it in quotes, “YOUR BRAIN IS WAITING FOR YOU EACH DAY. IT'S WAITING TO BE TOLD WHAT TO THINK." While I've found this to be true, I've also found it's not natural. My mind generally tends to lean on its own to thoughts that resist change, seek personal comfort, and find the easiest path for survival. Because the book Soundtracks isn't necessarily a Christian book, as the leader for our small group I had to come up with spiritual applications each week. In doing so I came across a sermon from Mark Batterson in which he references soundtracks he uses. He's not reciting mantras such as "I'm alive, I'm awake and I feel great", but rather five or six promises from scripture that are his go to "soundtracks" for when life gets tough. The past few weeks I've been using "remember what the Lord your God has done" as one of those soundtracks.
75 years ago, my great grandpa went to a place in Eckerman and helped start a conference that ultimately led to a youth camp my dad directed. For 53 years that has been my summer home. Next week I will go to a new camp I've only been to once, stay in a cabin I've been in for five minutes, and start a new adventure. If my great grandfather could come to the middle of the U.P. with no bridge to cross over, no indoor plumbing and no electricity, I think I can manage. However, it's not without complications, not what I would have wanted and certainly stretches my faith considerably. Remembering what God has done helps in three ways.
1. Remembering what God has done in the past helps remind us that He was with us before and He's with us now. Isaiah 41:10 "Do not fear for I am with you."
Over 12 years ago I was unbelievably reluctant to take over for my dad as director of HYC- yet with Gods help we not only survived but grew and improved and saw over 100 kids get saved.
Just yesterday, in speaking with three or four people about this coming summer they used the word "different". For someone who enjoys consistency and avoids change as much as possible "different" isn't very appealing. Remember what the Lord your God has done.
2. Remembering what God has done in the past helps remind us that He did it before and He'll do it again. I Samuel 17:37 David says before going to fight Goliath, "The same God who delivered me from the lion and the bear will do it again." God allowed us to be a part of services where an auditorium was filled with young people. To list all the blessings and victories God made possible would take hours. To think God somehow stopped working because the location has changed puts restrictions on God that make Him pretty small. Remember what the Lord your God has done.
3. Remembering what God has done in the past helps remind us that He's the one in control, not us. I Chronicles 29:14 "For everything comes from You, and we have given you only what comes from your own hand." A few years ago many of you helped financially to make renovations to the Miracle Building. We were able to raise more money than I would have thought possible. Toward the end of those renovations, we had a group of men who worked tirelessly from early in the morning to late in the evening to finish the dining room flooring. I remember turning the lights in the dining room off that evening after everyone else had gone and seeing a completely new Miracle Building as the sun set over the lake and saying "you did it God." It was a miracle those renovations were ever made in a building that was in and of itself a miracle from Him. They're Gods buildings, it's His camp, everything comes from Him. Remember what the Lord your God has done.
We're one week away from it all starting again. We have needed your prayers before but maybe never before have we needed them as much as this summer. We are grateful for your generosity in continuing to make it happen summer after summer. We remember all that He's done in the past and look forward to what He has in store for this summer.
Sincerely,
Craig
