Today, I want to talk about how remembering our faith gives us hope for the future and fills us with what I call “Abiding Joy” even when we may be going through difficult times. By “abiding joy,” I mean our state of being when we are content and grateful in all circumstances. This joy does not depend on external situations but is rooted in our relationship with God and our trust in His promises.

The Scripture for today’s message is Psalms 100. It is only five verses, but it teaches us much about faith, hope, and how to live a life with abiding joy. It reads:

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.

Know that the Lord is God.
It is he that made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name.

For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

This Psalm, attributed to Moses, carries profound significance. To understand why Moses might have written these words, we need to recall his life story. Moses was miraculously saved as a baby when Pharaoh sought to eliminate the Hebrew children in Egypt. Raised in Pharaoh’s house, Moses lived as a prince in Egypt until he had to flee after killing an Egyptian guard in defense of a Hebrew man. For 40 years, he lived in exile until God called him to return and lead his people out of Egyptian slavery. Through Moses, God accomplished the deliverance of His people, guiding them to the land promised to Abraham and Sarah, establishing them as a nation.

When we read, “Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture,” it takes on a profound meaning. Moses was reminding them, “We are the people of God; remember where he brought us from, how he saved us, and how he gave us a place to raise our families. And it is the Lord who will continue to guide us.”

How often do you take the time to remember the ways God has delivered you in the past? Moses and the Hebrew people had countless reasons to worship God and be thankful. They endured persecution, death, slavery, injustice, and abuse, yet when they sought God for deliverance, he saved them. However, they often forgot this, leading to rebellion and sin. Their suffering wasn’t only due to their enemies but also the consequences of forgetting their identity and abandoning God. However, by remembering God’s goodness, they also remembered who they were meant to be and corrected their ways and behaviors. Their memory of God was how they got their faith back, and this comeback filled them once again with purpose and joy in their lives.

For this, Moses’ call to remember and praise God comes from a place of understanding human nature’s tendency to forget blessings and focus on negatives. This inclination to complain and see the worst, even in the face of blessings, is something we all share. It’s easy to forget God’s goodness amidst life’s challenges, but Moses urges us as he urged his people to remember and let our memory of God’s faithfulness be our guiding principle.

Do you sometimes forget the blessings and deliverances God has provided in your life? Consider this: How different would your life be if you regularly remembered and focused on God’s faithfulness and blessings instead of your challenges and disappointments?

When Moses declared, “For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations,” he was encouraging the people to remember where they came from and let the memory of God’s deeds guide their lives, filling them with joy and gratitude.

We need to practice the same: remembering God’s goodness and keeping our eyes on his promises. Otherwise, we risk becoming complainers instead of people of hope and gratitude. We need to remember where we have come from and let our memory of who God is and what he has done for us guide us into the future. Instead of letting disappointment and negative experiences discourage us, we should let our good memories and achievements propel us forward with abiding joy.

Think about this: What are the good memories and achievements in your life that you can draw strength from during difficult times? Can you recall times when you experienced God’s goodness and faithfulness? Recalling these memories is not about living in the past but about letting the past remind you that you have a future because God loves you and cares for you.

This is an important practice, that is, to recall our memory with God. In today’s world, it’s easy to be pessimistic and discouraged. We see challenges and disappointments all around us that distract us to the point that we forget our faith. But isn’t this what everyone else experiences? Moses, King David, Jesus’ mother Mary, and the disciples all faced significant challenges. Our parents and mentors have also endured difficulties. Yet, they found ways to raise prayers and songs of thanksgiving for the joys of life they received and appreciated.

This means that abiding joy is not about having no concerns but knowing that God has been with us, is with us, and will always be with us. This assurance allows us to say, “We will be alright.” This matters because knowing that God is always with us changes how we face life’s challenges, providing us with a profound sense of peace and courage even in the darkest, most painful, and grieving times. This assurance is what gives us confidence, knowing we are never alone.

This is about faith because faith gives us the power and ability to remember and live with a positive mentality, even when this world’s dark and negative voices try to shut us down—even when our memories tell us we have nothing to be happy and thankful about. Faith empowers us to overcome the most hurtful and dark voices and memories of our past and present. It gives us the ability to see the good, even in our darkest and most disappointing moments.

What negative voices and memories do you need to overcome with faith? It is not always an external voice or voices that hurt; sometimes, the voice within us hurts more. We were not always like this, but somewhere along the way, we learned to be pessimistic, complainers, discouragers, and so on, making ourselves the first victims. Moses experienced this within himself and his people. They were their worst enemy. Yet, he wrote this beautiful Psalm about joy and faith because that is how we break away from the shackles of pessimism and defeat.

Do you long for joy no matter what happens in the world? Do you want to know that you will not lose hope even when life is not as it should be yet? Then, stick with God and live in an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Hold Jesus’ hand and don’t ever let go. Don’t let your past failures, disappointments, or pain become the guiding principle of your life. Instead, let your experiences of deliverance and trust in God move you forward, saying, “For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”

Lastly, keep in mind Romans 8:28: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Let this be the guiding principle of your life, leading you to celebrate your faith with abiding joy, remembering who God is and what he has done for you.