Those words could be a question, “remember me?”, but they could also be a command or a plea. As for myself, I think I have uttered those words as all three, question, command and plea, at various times in my life, depending on the situation. The one I most identify with however, is the heartfelt plea the thief hanging on the cross next to Jesus uttered in desperation when he cried out to Jesus – “remember me!” Here’s what happened –

“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him (Jesus): ‘Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? we are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ ” (Luke 23:39-42)

This was the plea of a dying man -“please, I beg you, Jesus, remember me, don’t forget about me, save me, call me to mind and to You” – all this and more was implied in the thief’s plea, when he begged Jesus simply to “remember me.” And Jesus did. The result?

“Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.’ ” (Luke 23:43)

Jesus “remembered” him and he was rescued from his death sentence and given instead life with Jesus. The same thing happened for Noah. Remember Noah, the ark and the flood? Remember what happened after the flood?

“The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days. But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and He sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” (Genesis 7:24-8:1)

God “remembered” Noah. The result? Noah and all on the ark were saved. They were rescued from the flood which covered the whole earth. Remembering leads to rescue, it would seem. That was the case for Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Abraham had asked God to spare Lot’s life. The result?

“So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham, and He brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.” (Genesis 19:29)

God remembered Abraham’s plea for Lot’s life and God rescued Lot from the disaster. Do you ever feel like God has forgotten you? The Israelites often felt that way. They felt abandoned by God.

“But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.’ ” (Isaiah 49:14)

What was God’s response to this?

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.” (Isaiah 49:15-16)

When I feel unseen and unheard, invisible, overlooked and forgotten by everyone I ever knew – I can know that my Heavenly Father “remembers” me. God has not forgotten me! He sees me and He hears my cries. He hears my pleas to Him to “remember me.” I think Jeremiah also feared being forgotten or overlooked by God because he cried out –

“You understand, O Lord; remember me and care for me. Avenge me on my persecutors. You are long-suffering – do not take me away; think of how I suffer reproach for Your sake.” (Jeremiah 15:15)

God will not forget me nor you, dear readers. Our names are engraved on the palms of His hands. God does not lose track of us either. We have this promise from Psalms –

“He will not let your foot slip – He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. . . . The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:7-8)

It’s reassuring to me to know that God not only remembers me, but He’s remembering me twenty-four/seven with no gaps in His infinite attention span. God keeps His promises because He always remembers His promises. This is what God said to Noah –

” ‘I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.’ And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.’ ” (Genesis 9:11-16)

Unlike you and me, God has a perfect memory. I don’t have to worry that God will forget about me. Still, King David, entreated God to remember him in this Psalm –

“Remember, O Lord, Your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to Your love remember me, for You are good, O Lord.” (Psalm 25:6-7)

David’s plea is that God will remember him BUT will NOT remember his sin and his rebellious ways. This is my plea as well – “Remember me, God! Please don’t remember all my sin and my rebellion – but do remember me!” Fortunately, God does this very thing. I have His Word on it!

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” (Isaiah 43:25)

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)

Best deal ever! My Heavenly Father will remember me BUT not my sin. Like the thief on the cross, my plea is “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And He has promised that He will do just that. Jesus told His disciples –

“In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3)

This is good news! My Heavenly Father not only remembers me, He watches over me continuously, He knows every hair on my head, He calls me by name just like He does every star, my name is engraved on the palms of His hands, He’s preparing a place for me and He’s coming back to get me. When I cry out “remember me!”, I can know that my Heavenly Father does indeed remember me. He has promised to forget nothing except my sin. Me, He remembers always.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

“The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

sincerely, Grace Day