The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. (Deuteronomy 26:8-9)
On our way home from vacation last week, Wendy and I stopped at the Millard Fillmore house in East Aurora, NY. Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States, built the house for himself and his wife in 1826 while he was a lawyer in the area.
The house is small, and tours are by appointment only. We decided to simply stop by early that morning and have a look. As we were on the front porch, peeking in the windows, by chance one of the tour guides arrived to open the house for a tour happening shortly. She said we could come in a look around while she opened the house. And while she made it clear she couldn’t give us a tour, she proceeded to tell us all about Fillmore, his wife, and the house.
As I am sure you know (ha ha), Fillmore was the Vice-President under Zachary Taylor and ascended to the Presidency in the summer of 1850 when Taylor died. That summer, the issue of slavery was tearing the United States apart and the Compromise of 1850, signed into law by Fillmore to help ease tension, ended up only making matters worse.
When I hear people say things like, “Things have never been worse,” my mind goes back to the 1850s. Or the 1880s (the First Great Depression). Or the 1930s (the Great Depression). Or even 1348 (the Black Death in Europe). Things were just as bad if not worse.
I believe memory is as important to faith as what we believe or even what we do. Without memory, we forget who we are, what we have come through, and God’s presence with us throughout. Memory is, for me, the key to hope. When Paul writes that faith is the assurance of things not seen, memory tells me I have seen God at work in this world before. Surely, God is with us still.
When it seems like things have never been worse, remember the God who led a people out of Egypt and remember the God who has been with you each day of your life.
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