Remember
The book of Habakkuk allows us to watch as the prophet moves from being troubled to becoming triumphant. He begins with his complaint to God but ends with his praise for God. One of the important points of action we can learn from Habakkuk is how he reflects on and remembers God’s past actions on behalf of his people.
In poetic form, he recalls what God did in the Exodus and at Sinai. He brings to mind the history of God’s people and remembers that it is a long story of salvation. This makes sense of his declaration, “I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” This was not a fanciful, idealistic hopium. Habakkuk was not whistling through the graveyard. He had good reason to feel this way. He looked back and remembered. Therefore, he could look forward and hope with joy.
When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He told us to “do this in remembrance of me.” He coupled that with the promise that we would one day sup with Him in glory. In the Lord’s Supper, we both look back and look forward. And our remembering, our backward gaze, informs and animates our looking forward. We remember what He did, that He gave up His life for us, He died to save us, and remembering that encourages our faith to believe with hope about the future promises.
We look back and remember what He did to save us and therefore know He won’t fail to save us completely and finally.
