I was recently asked to list what I felt were major accomplishments over this past year. While looking back on the year and making the list, I thought, “Wow, a lot happened this year.”
As I was thinking about this, one of our memory verses came to mind.
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
– Deuteronomy 6:10-12
The Israelites did not bring themselves out of Egypt. God made it possible for the Israelites to leave Egypt and protected and provided them in their decades in the wilderness. Moses was telling Israel to remember God and not forget all He had done for them.
These verses reminded me that I didn’t acccomplish anything by myself. Everything that happened this year – with school, work, and projects I wasn’t sure I was even capable of doing – wasn’t solely because of me. Through it all, God was there, blessing me with favour, encouraging me, and carrying me through everything.
In the busyness of the day-to-day, it’s so easy to forget how far we’ve come and what happened this year. How much easier is it to forget what God has been doing in your life?
The Israelites knew the importance of remembering this and would use stones to mark places where God did incredible things, such as at the Jordan River in Joshua 4, to remember what God had done for them. They would also retell the stories of their history to their children and grandchildren and, to this day, place a lot of importance on memorizing the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible), which covers their origins and early history of what God brought them through.
We may not be able to do all of that, but I encourage you to take a moment, maybe with your family and/or kids, to reflect and look back on 2024. What were the major events, accomplishments, and milestones for you this year? How has God helped and guided you through them this year? Feel free to write/type it down if you want a physical record of it.
Whatever you do, may we never forget God and what He has done for us, both in this year and throughout our lives.