Never Forget: Four Ways to Remember and Celebrate God's Faithfulness

Watch the whole service and sermon from Deuteronomy 8: "A Year to Celebrate God." Reflect on His faithfulness, remember His guidance, and renew your commitment to live by His word as we embrace a new year filled with promise and purpose.

This passage speaks to your life because:

• It reminds you of God's faithfulness and provision throughout life's journey. Just as God sustained the Israelites in the wilderness, He continues to provide for and guide us through our own challenges and triumphs.
• It shows you the importance of humility and reliance on God. The passage teaches that success and blessings are not from our own strength, but from God's grace, encouraging a spirit of gratitude and dependence on Him.
• It calls you to continual remembrance and commitment to God's word. By keeping His commands at the center of your life, you are invited to experience His blessing and to maintain a heart of worship and thankfulness.

As one year closes and another begins, there's a natural human tendency to pause and reflect. We look back at the twelve months behind us—the victories, the challenges, the unexpected turns, and the quiet moments of grace. But in our reflection, what should we focus on? More importantly, who should we focus on?

The book of Deuteronomy offers us profound wisdom for this season of remembrance. In chapter eight, Moses addresses the Israelites just before they enter the Promised Land. After forty years of wilderness wandering, God stops His people and essentially says: "Remember. Don't forget."

This isn't merely nostalgia or sentimentality. It's a spiritual discipline with eternal significance.

Here's an uncomfortable truth: it's remarkably easy to forget God's providence in our lives, especially when everything is going well. When life is good, when our needs are met, when success comes our way, we tend to forget that God is the source of all our blessings. We begin to look at ourselves rather than upward to Him.

This forgetfulness carries real danger. When we ignore God's blessings or fail to acknowledge Him as the source, we inevitably drift. We start trusting in our own strength, our own wisdom, our own resources. And that path always leads us astray.

The remedy? Intentional remembrance. Active celebration of God's work in and through us.

The first way we remember God's faithfulness is by celebrating how He has led us. Moses reminds Israel: "Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey these forty years in the wilderness."

God leads His people through His Word. When we carefully follow His commands, when we commit ourselves to living by Scripture, we position ourselves for blessing. The truth is simple but profound: God blesses those who are faithful to His Word. Churches grow, lives transform, and ministries flourish not because of human ingenuity but because of commitment to biblical truth.

But God doesn't just lead us forward—He leads us to shape us. Every moment, every season, every circumstance becomes an opportunity for God to develop our character and deepen our dependence on Him. The wilderness years challenged Israel, but God used every moment to shape their hearts, build their trust, and mature their faith.
The same applies to us. God uses every season to shape our faith and help us trust Him more completely. His presence throughout the entire journey—even in dark moments when we feel alone—is what strengthens us. As the New Testament reminds us, even when we are unfaithful, He remains faithful.

God's leading also produces humility in us. Sometimes we need that "humble pie," those moments when God reveals that we're not as self-sufficient as we thought. He tests us not to trip us up but to reveal the content of our hearts—to show us whether we're truly living by His Word or merely giving Him lip service.

Ultimately, God leads us to produce reverence in us. When we walk in His ways and grow in our relationship with Him, the natural response is worship. Everything we do in life becomes an expression of reverence for the One who guides our steps.

The second way we remember is by celebrating God's provision. Moses points Israel toward the blessings: "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams, springs, and deep water sources flowing in both valleys and hills."

Notice the phrase "good land." This imagery reminds us that blessings come from Him, not from our abilities. God brings growth—new relationships, new opportunities, new resources. Every good thing comes from Him.

The description of the Promised Land emphasizes abundance: wheat, barley, vines, figs, pomegranates, olive oil, honey, iron, copper. The repeated message? "You will lack nothing." This is God's intention for His people—not that we become materialistic, but that we understand His generous heart toward those who trust Him.

And what should be our response to God's provision? Verse ten says it clearly: "When you eat and are full, you will bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you."
Abundance should lead to worship. When we're blessed, when we're full, when our needs are met, the appropriate response isn't pride or self-congratulation—it's thanksgiving. We bless the Lord because He has blessed us.

Even if you feel you haven't received a tangible blessing yet today, consider this: you're alive. You woke up this morning. You have breath in your lungs. That alone is more than enough reason to give God thanks.

And here's a beautiful truth: God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. His provision flows through us to reach those around us who are in need.

The third way we remember God's faithfulness is by celebrating how He has sustained us. Moses reminds Israel how God sustained and prospered them during their wilderness wanderings—providing manna, preserving their clothing, bringing water from rocks.

God sustains us so we can focus on Him. And what keeps us focused? His Word. When we neglect Scripture, we stop thinking about God. We wander in our own wilderness, looking for other solutions, submitting to other influences. But when we keep His Word, when we carefully guard it in our hearts, we won't forget God.

We must be careful not to become proud, thinking we've prospered because of self-reliance, effort, talent, or resources. The Word reminds us that He alone is the source of blessing. Verse seventeen warns: "You may say to yourself, 'My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me.'" What a foolish attitude!

We are not strong enough on our own. We don't have spiritual talent by our own means. It's all because of God. He gives us strength, wisdom, leadership, favor, and resources. In every trial and every triumph, God sustains us.

The fourth way we remember doesn't just look backward—it looks forward. Moses doesn't end with remembering; he calls for response. Remembrance should lead to renewed faithfulness, commitment, and devotion to God.

As we step into a new year, our commitment must remain clear: we will keep remembering God by walking in His Word, depending on His strength, and giving Him all the glory.

But here's the warning: if we forget God, if we exclude Him from our success, it will lead to decline and ruin. Verses nineteen and twenty are sobering: "If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods...you will certainly perish."

Celebration calls us to humble faithfulness. It calls us to walk with God daily—when we wake up, when we go to work, when we face challenges, when we celebrate victories. We don't know what the new year will bring, but if we walk with God, we'll remain victorious.

As we remember God's faithfulness and look toward the future, we can say with confidence: "It is well with my soul." Not because circumstances are perfect, but because God is faithful. Not because we're strong, but because He sustains us. Not because we have it all figured out, but because He leads us.

So as you enter this new year, remember. Celebrate. Renew your commitment. Live by His Word, build others up, and move His kingdom forward. In doing so, you'll find that whatever your lot, whatever challenges or blessings come your way, it truly is well with your soul.

This week's sermon called us to pause at the year's end and remember all that God has done. Moses' words to Israel in Deuteronomy 8 remind us that remembering God's faithfulness isn't just about nostalgia—it's about renewing our commitment to walk with Him into the future.

• How has God's Word specifically led you or our church this year?
• In what ways did God use difficult moments to shape your faith and character?
• Moses says God led Israel "to know what is in your heart." What has God revealed to you about your own heart this year?

Key Takeaway: God leads us through His Word and uses every season—both favorable and difficult—to shape our faith, humble our hearts, and produce reverence in us.

Reflection: Read Deuteronomy 8:2-6. How does viewing challenges as God's discipline (training) rather than punishment change your perspective on difficult seasons?

• What specific provisions has God given you this year that you can trace directly to Him?
• How easy is it to forget that blessings come from God when life is going well? Why do you think that is?
• The sermon emphasized that "God blesses us so we can be a blessing to others." How have you been able to bless others because God first blessed you?

Key Takeaway: All blessings come from God, not from our abilities. He provides in abundance so that we will worship Him and bless others.

Reflection: Read Deuteronomy 8:7-10. Make a list as a group of specific ways God has provided abundantly for your church this year.

• Share a time this year when you felt like you were in a "wilderness" but God sustained you through it.
• How does focusing on God's Word help us stay focused on Him rather than our circumstances?
• The sermon warned against pride—thinking our success comes from our own power. Where might you be tempted to take credit for what God has done?

Key Takeaway: God sustains us in every season—even in the wilderness—to prosper us spiritually and help us realize that all our strength comes from Him.

Reflection: Read Deuteronomy 8:11-18. Verse 18 says God "gives you the power to gain wealth." How does this truth humble you?

• What does it practically look like to "walk with God" in your daily life?
• How can we as a group help each other remember God and stay committed to Him in the new year?
• What are the dangers of forgetting God, according to Deuteronomy 8:19-20? How can we guard against this?

Key Takeaway: Remembering God's faithfulness should lead us to renewed commitment—humbling ourselves, walking with Him daily, and glorifying Him in all we do.

Reflection: As we enter a new year, what is one specific commitment you want to make to deepen your walk with God?

Choose one or more of these practical steps:

1. Create a "Remember" List: Write down 10-20 specific ways God blessed, led, provided for, or sustained you this year. Keep it somewhere visible and thank God for each one.
2. Live by His Word: Commit to a daily Bible reading plan for the new year. Share your plan with someone you trust to hold you accountable.
3. Bless Someone Else: Since God blesses us to be a blessing, identify one person or family you can bless this week with your time, resources, or encouragement.
4. Guard Against Pride: Reflect on areas where you might be tempted to take credit for God's work. Confess this to God and ask Him to keep you humble.
5. Walk with God Daily: Each morning this week, literally pray, "God, I'm holding Your hand today. Lead me." Then consciously acknowledge His presence throughout your day.

• Live by His Word: Stay committed to Scripture.
• Build each other up: Seek the good of others, not ourselves.
• Move His kingdom forward: Do everything for God's glory.

Read Deuteronomy 8:10: "When you eat and are full, you will bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you."

• What does it look like for you personally to "bless the Lord" in response to His provision?
• How can our small group better fulfill this mission in the coming year?