Remember the Works of God
“I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old.” Psalm 77:11
“Dad, I think you’ll find this book really helpful in learning about God,” I said to my 70- year-old, newly converted father. When he died ten years later, I discovered his dog-eared copy of Dr. J.I. Packer’s powerful book, Knowing God, among his possessions. He had read it four times, each time underlining and making comments in a different color pen.
My father, a typical British man who loved his pub, his crossword puzzle, and his two pints of beer every evening had never been open to discussing faith, Jesus, or religion of any type. I had prayed off and on for many years since my own out-of-the-blue conversion as a 17- year-old but hadn’t seen any openness. Then, two years before my father’s miraculous receiving of Christ, the Spirit of God burdened me to pray as I’d never prayed before.
I remember going for my daily walk, sometimes in the rain, pleading with God for my parents to come to faith. Often my tears mingled with the raindrops splashing on my face. Totally unknown to me, God was at work in my father’s heart.
“Poppy, can you come?” asked my father, his voice trembling. “Yes, Dad, I’ll get on the first flight I can get,” my voice breaking as he told me that my mother had a heart attack and wasn’t expected to live.
Arriving in England within 30 hours, I was able to be with my mother as she died. Her funeral followed five days later. The night before I was to fly back to Portland, God stunned me with what He had been doing in my father’s life.
“Poppy, is this what you believe?” he asked, pulling out a manila envelope and showing me a letter, a Gospel of John, and helps to becoming a child of God. “I sent for these six months ago, in response to an advertisement in The Times newspaper. I want to know if this is right or just some scam.”
I could barely breathe as I sensed the holy presence of God in that tiny, British living room. It felt palpable. “Dad, this is exactly what I believe, and I’ve been praying on one continent to the God who is in heaven, to speak to you on the other side of the world!”
We didn’t talk much more that night, and in the morning, I flew back to Oregon. A week later I received a letter from my father. “The day you left, Poppy,” he wrote, “I got down on my knees and invited Jesus into my life and asked Him to forgive my sins.”
In shock, I burst into tears. I have never lost my awe at the power of God to answer prayer.
When I read about J.I. Packer’s passing a few weeks ago, I remembered the works of God. He was the perfect author to teach my spiritually hungry, yet biblically ignorant, father about the majesty of the God we worship and adore. I am deeply grateful for Dr. Packer’s life and work. Knowing God taught me so much as a young believer who was also spiritually hungry and Biblically ignorant.
What do you remember about the works of God in your life? In addition to remembering, Psalm 77: 12 urges us to “meditate on all Your work and talk of Your deeds.” Who will you talk to about the wonderful works of God in your life?