I guess the problem is that I am not fully aware of what I have been saved from.  It is not tangible. It is spiritual. I see that my lifestyle has changed, but it is easy to forget who I used to be.  The Apostle Paul reminds us to never forget who we were before the touch of Christ rebuked the sin in us and we were born again (Ephesians 2:11-13).  But she was fully aware of what God had done for her.

Sick, feverish, with no cure she lay in her bed pondering what could happen if nothing changed. Is she seeing her last days?  Fear, regret, guilt over her past sins and mistakes running through her mind, sweat soaking her bed. Then He walked in. Jesus leaned over her, rebuked the fever and it was gone.  Let’s look at our Verse of the Day:

Luke 4:38-39

Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them. (NIV)

What is your response to all that Christ has done for you?  Simon’s mother-in-law got up at once and began to wait on them.  There was no thought to sit and recover, to rest still letting others continue to wait on her.  No, her first thought, her first prompting was to wait upon the One who had healed her thoroughly.  She had been brought back from death to life all because of Him.  

God warned the Israelites that after they had received the blessing of the Lord to not forget Him.  The goodness that He will do for them will so bless their life, the cries of desperate slaves, hungry property of Egypt will all but disappear in the bounty of their blessing.  And when this time comes, their temptation will not be bitterness toward their slavemasters, apathy in the face of lifelong slavery, but complacency in His generosity. Have we forgotten the Lord in the deep waters of favor?

How important to the maturity of our soul to never forget who we were before.  I want to forget who I was because I was not nice. I want to forget the struggle because the pain was so intense.  I want to forget where my life was headed because the shame is overwhelming. But I must. We must. We must remember that we never take His healing for granted.  I am forgiven. I am healed. I am no longer a slave. That is no longer me. I am a new creation. That is no longer my lot. I live in the promised land of His beauty far from the desert of sin.  The contrast of who He has made me to be from who I was stirs waves of gratitude. I give thanks for His faithfulness. It makes me want to get up at once and wait upon Him, serve Him, fulfill the purpose of my healing for I was set free for the cause of freedom.  I use my freedom to break the chains of others.  

Take a moment and remember who you were, the crowds you ran with, the habits of your flesh, the meditations of your mind and the words out of your mouth.  Then consider how far the Lord has brought you, how He has changed you, changed your life, sustained you through the dark night to see the glory of a new day.  See, just see, if you are not moved to praise Him and serve Him. May we all remember the wondrous works of God and get up at once and begin to wait upon Him.

Leave me a comment.  I would love to hear the story of grace and victory that is your life.