A thought by Steven Furtick from his book, Seven-Mile Miracle: Journey into the Presence of God Through the Last Words of Jesus (p. 52). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
If you remember seeing a picture of the three crosses in the story of Calvary, you remember that Jesus was on the middle cross and two thieves were on both sides of him and one of them repented and ask for Jesus to remember him. (Jesus, remember me.)
Steven says, “Jesus told a story about a widow who had been treated unfairly by someone else. (Luke 18:1-8) She kept bothering a judge about granting her justice. I picture one of the many conversations between the two of them going something like this: WIDOW: Remember me, Judge? JUDGE: All too well. WIDOW: You haven’t done anything about my case yet. JUDGE: I’m busy. I’ll get to it. WIDOW: Why not now? My adversary was in the wrong. I need justice! JUDGE: I’ve got better things to do at the moment. You wait your turn with the rest of them. WIDOW: No, Judge. I need justice now!
Steven goes on, “The widow was so insistent, the judge was actually afraid she would attack him! In our day, a judge in a situation like that would issue a restraining order to force her to keep her distance. He might threaten her with the bailiff. But this judge gave in and let the widow have what she wanted.”
Steven then says, “Here’s the thing—Jesus wasn’t condemning this widow who refused to be put off. He was condoning her persistence, and offering it as an example to be emulated!
“We don’t have to guess at what this story means for us. The Bible says that Jesus told this story to his disciples ‘to show them that they should always pray and not give up.’ (Luke 18:1) We’re to be like the persistent widow and keep praying for what we feel we should have. It isn’t selfishness. It’s a sign of faith.”
Steven goes on, “If you need a breakthrough in an area of your life right now, keep going to God in prayer saying, ‘Remember me, remember me, remember me!’
“It’s not that God is unaware of your need or that he is indifferent—it’s just that he may have a different timing or solution in mind than you do. But still, he invites you to keep coming to him persistently. It shows that you’re trusting in him, and him alone, for what you need. It’s actually a positive part of your developing relationship with God.
“When Jesus had his Last Supper with the disciples, he said to them, ‘Do this in remembrance of me.’ (Luke 22:19) In other words, when they celebrated the Passover meal in the future, they were to remember, not only the deliverance of the Hebrews at the Exodus but even more so the deliverance that Jesus won for all people at the cost of his body and blood. We need to be reminded again and again of his sacrifice. Remembering is so important.”
Steven says, “Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Remember me.’ The thief said to Jesus, ‘Remember me.’ We can say to God every day, or even many times a day, ‘Remember me.
He then says, “Then start living like we believe he’s actually going to do it.”
So, will you start living and believing he's actually going to do it? Will you?
Yes, yes!
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