God Remembers—And Everything Changes

Welcome to the Confidence in God podcast with your host, Julie McGhghy! In this episode, we explore the powerful biblical theme of what happens when God remembers. Far from simply recalling information, God’s remembrance is an act of faithfulness, intervention, and the fulfillment of His promises.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• The true meaning behind the phrase “then God remembered” in the Bible
• How God’s remembrance led to deliverance for Noah, Abraham, Rachel, and Hannah
• The difference between God remembering people and remembering sin
• Why God’s timing is perfect, even when it feels like we’ve been waiting a long time
• Encouragement for those who feel forgotten or are waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled

Key Scriptures:

• Exodus 2:24-25 — God remembers His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
• Genesis 8:1-3 — God remembers Noah and brings deliverance
• Genesis 30:22-23 & 1 Samuel 1 — God remembers Rachel and Hannah, answering their prayers

Resources: 

https://confidenceingod.com/resources/

The Struggle to Forgive and Forget 

Episode Timeline

0:00 — Introduction

• Welcome to the Confidence in God podcast with Julie McGhghy
• Overview of today’s topic: What happens when God remembers?

1:00 — Setting the Stage

• Reflection on the phrase “then God remembered” in the Bible
• Recap of the previous episode: “The Struggle to Forgive and Forget”
• Invitation to download the “Five Steps to Experience More Confidence in God” resource

3:00 — Understanding ‘Remember’

• Exploring the meaning of “remember” in biblical context
• God’s remembrance as active intervention, not just recollection

5:00 — God Remembers His People

• God remembers His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 2:24-25)
• The Israelites’ journey from blessing in Egypt to slavery

8:00 — Deliverance from Egypt

• God hears the Israelites’ cries and sets deliverance in motion through Moses

10:00 — God Remembers Noah

• The story of Noah, the flood, and God’s deliverance (Genesis 8:1-3)
• God’s faithfulness through long periods of waiting

13:00 — God Remembers Rachel and Hannah

• Rachel’s barrenness and answered prayer (Genesis 30:22-23)
• Hannah’s anguish, prayer, and the birth of Samuel (1 Samuel 1)

16:00 — God’s Timing and Faithfulness

• God never forgets His promises or His people
• The importance of waiting on God’s perfect timing

18:00 — Personal Application

• Encouragement for listeners who feel forgotten or are waiting for God’s promises
• How to respond in seasons of waiting: worship, faith, and perseverance

20:00 — Scripture Encouragement

• Key verses: Hebrews 11:7-13, Psalms 26:13-14, Psalms 28:7

22:00 — Summary and Takeaway

• Recap of main points: God’s remembrance leads to action and fulfillment
• Encouragement to trust God’s faithfulness

23:00 — Resources and Next Steps

• Reminder to access the free resource and previous episode
• Invitation to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast

24:00 — Closing

• Final encouragement: “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”

Transcript

0:00

Hello and welcome to the Confidence in God podcast. I am your host, Julie McGhghy, and our goal today is to help you walk with confidence in God. When you read in the Bible something similar to,"then God remembered" such and such or so and so, do you wonder if God actually forgot something? In the last episode of this podcast titled"The Struggle to Forgive and Forget," we learned that due to God's omniscience, he does not forget anything. He is all knowing. He has perfect knowledge of everything past, present, and future. So why does he have to remember anything? In this episode, I hope to encourage you as we explore what it means when the Bible says"then God remembered" and how that impacts us today. We can have faith that God has never forgotten us and remembers all of His promises to us. Before we get started, I invite you to check out a resource titled"Five Steps to Experience More Confidence in God." You can have instant access to it by going to confidenceingod.com/resources. In this resource, you'll learn how we can confidently live a life that is victorious over sin. I'll drop the link to the resource in the show notes for your convenience. I'll also share a link to"The Struggle to Forgive and Forget" in case you missed that episode and would like to hear more about God calling us to forgive and forget. What do you think when you read that God remembered? There are several definitions of"to remember" in the current English language. Some don't have anything to do with remembering something we've forgotten. For example, on certain holidays, we remember those who have served our country in the military or as President. In that context, we haven't actually forgotten those people. We bring them to mind to emphasize the importance of what they did. Another example is when we make a conscious effort to bring something from the past into the present and to act upon it. It isn't an act of recollection. It is an active engagement such as when we remember people who have blessed us in our past and now we strive to be a blessing to them in return. This is the definition used when the Bible says,"then God remembered." God's remembering is often a form of active intervention and a response to the needs of His people. God's remembrance is not merely a mental recollection, but a powerful act of commitment, faithfulness, and active intervention on behalf of His people. God remembers us, not just corporately as His church, but also individually. Although He chooses to remember your sins no more, to not hold those sins against you anymore in punishment or judgment, He does not forget you. He remembers you. When God remembers people, plans and promises, he demonstrates His faithfulness by aligning His actions with his stated will. Following every instance where God remembered, we can see His subsequent action or work on behalf of His people. When He remembers sin, He acts differently than when He remembers people. He punishes the sin He remembers. He blesses the people He remembers. God does not remember your sin after you have repented and entered into salvation. So He does not punish you or judge you for it. He does remember you, so He blesses you. Let's look at a few examples. God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In Exodus 2:24-25, we read that God heard His children groaning because they were enslaved in Egypt and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We read in chapter three how God put into motion His plan to deliver His children from slavery. Much of the remainder of the Book of Exodus is the record of how God did so. Way back in Genesis 12:1-3, God had called Abraham to leave his home and go to a land that God would show him. God promised to make him a great nation, bless him, make his name great and make him a blessing to all families of the earth. There were approximately 430 years between the time God made His covenant to Abraham and the time God called Moses to deliver the children of Israel from slavery. There were many ups and downs during those 430 years, but the vast majority of this time, approximately 400 years, was spent in Egypt. But even in Egypt, the children of Israel received great blessings while Joseph was alive and in a high position, second only to Pharaoh. Exodus 1:7 tells us they were fruitful and increased abundantly and multiplied and waxed exceeding mighty, and the land was filled with them. During that time, they likely remained confident in God's promises to their forefathers. But then a new king rose up in Egypt who did not know Joseph and was afraid of the children of Israel because they were more in number and mightier than the new King and his people. That's when the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt. Although we don't know for certain how many years the Israelites were in slavery in Egypt, it is commonly believed that it was almost 400 years. Often during that period, it's likely they weren't so sure God remembered His promises to Abraham. When the King of Egypt died, the Israelites began crying out to the Lord because of their bondage. That's when God remembered His covenant to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and looked upon His children with respect. Remember that one of the definitions of,"to remember" particularly the one most often applied to God is a conscious effort to bring something from the past into the present and act upon it. That is exactly what God did. He brought his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to the present and set the fulfillment of those promises into action. In the very next chapter of Exodus, we learn of Moses tending sheep and God calling him to go to Pharaoh and to deliver the Israelites out of his hands. God never forgot Abraham or His promises to Abraham. He never forgot His plan for the children of Israel, but He waited until the planned time to fulfill those promises. Now let's look at Noah. In Genesis 8:1-3, we read that God remembered Him after sending a flood to destroy everyone and everything on the earth except Noah's family and the animals they took on the arc with them. You can read all about the flood and God's deliverance of Noah in chapters six through eight of Genesis. In Noah's days on the earth, wickedness reigned, and the thoughts of man were only for evil continually. This grieved the Lord, so He decided to destroy mankind from the face of the earth. Except Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord because Noah was a just man and walked with God. God established a covenant with Noah that he and his family, along with the animals that God instructed Noah to take, would be saved from the destruction of the earth by flood. At that time, rain and flood was a foreign concept to Noah and everyone else. According to Genesis 2:5-6, the earth was watered by a mist that came up from the earth. Regardless, Noah did as God instructed and built an arc according to God's specification. It was 120 years before the flood actually occurred. After the rain started, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. Then the waters remained on the Earth 150 days, or five months. Then God remembered Noah. He made a conscious effort to bring something from the past into the present and to act upon it. He made a wind pass over the earth that caused the water to recede. Noah was on the ark approximately 370 days, more than a year, waiting for God's deliverance from the destruction of the earth. God never forgot Noah and his family. He never forgot His promises to Noah. He never forgot His plan for Noah's family and the future of mankind. But He waited until the planned time to fulfill those promises. There were also two women mentioned who God remembered and gave them children. The first was Rachel. She was Jacob's beloved wife, but for many years she did not bear any children for him. Instead, Rachel's sister Leah, bore him children. Leah was who their father had fraudulently given to Jacob after he had worked seven years for Rachel. We read in Genesis 30:22-23, that God remembered Rachel and opened her womb. Not only did she bear a son, but God took away her reproach. Although the Bible doesn't specifically describe Rachel's crying out to God for children, verse 22 tells us that God hearkened to her. So she had been praying for children and God answered her prayer. This is not only an example of God answering an individual's prayer, but is also related to the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham. God remembered Rachel in her bareness and gave her a child according to His covenant to make Abraham's family a great nation. She bore Joseph, who eventually saved the children of Israel from the famine in Canaan, which drove them to Egypt where they grew and multiplied, as I mentioned a moment ago. There was another woman whom God remembered in her bareness. We read about it in 1 Samuel 1. Hannah's husband had two wives. His other wife was able to bear children, but Hannah was not able to. The other wife, referred to in the Bible as Hannah's adversary or rival, gave Hannah an extremely hard time because she was barren. This was an ongoing torment to Hannah. Remember that it was considered a shame and disgrace for a woman to be unable to bear children for her husband. So Hannah grew very distraught regardless of the fact that her husband loved her very much, even more than he loved the other wife. The time came to go to the temple to worship the Lord. Hannah was so distraught she wouldn't eat or drink. Instead, she stayed in the temple and cried out to the Lord in despair. She did not cry out audibly. Instead, her anguish showed on her face and her mouth was moving in prayer, but no sound came out of her mouth. The priest thought she was drunk and reprimanded her. Hannah answered the priest and explained she was not drunk, but was pouring out her soul before the Lord. The priest listened to Hannah and prophesied that God would grant her the requests of her heart. Hannah left the temple uplifted and began eating and drinking as usual, she returned home with her husband and returned to her life as usual. Then God remembered Hannah. He brought the prophecy of the priest from the past into the present and opened Hannah's womb, so she became pregnant and gave birth to Samuel. Just like Rachel's son was, no ordinary baby, Samuel wasn't either. Rachel's son was instrumental in saving Israel and his family from the famine in Canaan so they could grow in number and might in Egypt. Hannah's baby was a judge, prophet and priest. He was instrumental in transitioning Israel from a period of leadership by judges to a monarchy. He anointed their first king, king Saul, and their second king, King David. The anointing of King David established the line from which Jesus Christ descended. God never forgot Rachel and Hannah. He never forgot his plan to save the children of Israel from the famine and grow them into a great nation as promised to Abraham. And He never forgot His plan to establish the Davidic line from which the savior of the world would rise up. But He waited until the planned time to fulfill these promises. We've considered these examples of God's remembering people. He remembered His promise to establish the great nation of the children of Israel. He remembered a family in order to save them and replenish the earth again after His judgment destroyed it. And He remembered two individuals and gave them the desires of their heart, so they might have children and God could use those children to accomplish His plans. How do these apply to us? Do you have promises from God that you feel like he has forgotten? Has it been so long since you received that promise that you are no longer confident that you understood God correctly? Have you lost hope that God will fulfill those promises for His people as a whole, for your family, or for you as an individual. God has not forgotten any promise He has made in the Bible or that He has spoken to you individually. God has not forgotten your church. He has not forgotten your family, and He has not forgotten you. Listen to what the writer of the book of Hebrews said about Noah and Abraham in Hebrews 11:7-13."By faith, Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet moved with fear, prepared an arc to the saving of his house by the which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness, which is by faith. By Faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out not knowing whither he went. By faith, he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country dwelling in Tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which had foundations whose builder and maker is God. Through faith. Also, Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged Him faithful, who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky and multitude, and as the sand, which is by the seashore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced them and confess that they were strangers in pilgrims on the earth." When you feel like God is not hearing your prayers, that maybe His promises don't apply to you, or you misunderstood His promises to you, that he has forgotten you and the promises He made, hang on. Continue looking to the future. Continue embracing the promises of God and pouring yourself into those promises. Continue in obedience and faith. His promises to you, your family, your church will come to pass. He has not forgotten you. His plans will come to fruition. Remember Hannah's reaction to the prophecy that she would be given a child. She picked herself up, worshiped the Lord, and continued walking with God faithfully. If you find yourself in desperation, pick yourself up, worship the Lord even if you don't yet see His promises being fulfilled, and continue walking with Him faithfully until the promise is fulfilled. Remember Psalms 26:13-14."I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait, on the Lord, be of good courage. He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say on the Lord." Also Psalms 28:7."The Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusted in Him and I am helped. Therefore, my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise him." Praise God for his many promises and for remembering each one of us, our families, and our churches. Praise builds our faith and our strength in times of waiting. This was a lot of information. Let me quickly summarize it. God does not forget us. Although He chooses to not remember our sins, meaning He does not hold the sins of His children against us, He does remember each and every one of His children, and in His remembering, He brings His promises of the past into the present. He blesses the children in the perfect timing of His will. But in the time of waiting. Worship the Lord and continue walking with Him faithfully until the promise is fulfilled. Build your faith and strength by praising our Lord and Savior. I would love to hear from you. Share with me how God has helped you remain faithful in your times of waiting for God's promises to be fulfilled. Now, as I mentioned earlier, I invite you to check out a resource titled"Five Steps to Experience More Confidence in God." It will help you live a life that is victorious over sin. Just click the link in the show notes and click on the resource. Also, if you haven't listened to the episode titled"The Struggle to Forgive and Forget" and want to learn more about how God forgives and forgets our sin and calls us to forgive others just as He has forgiven us, then click on the link to that episode also in the show notes. That's it for today. Please take a second to subscribe to our show so you'll be notified when future episodes come out. Also, it would be great if you would rate or review our show. That way more people can find out about it. Until next time, let's be confident in this, that he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.