AudioThey say the first thing to go is your sense of the hereafter. You walk into a room and wonder, “What did I come in here after?” Earlier this week, I claimed to be having a “senior moment,” but was told that I was not yet old enough to use that excuse. Whatever factor we chalk it up to, or excuse we make, the undeniable fact is that we are a forgetful lot. A great example of this is found in Scripture, when Joseph was imprisoned, and he asked Pharaoh’s cupbearer to “please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh” (Gen 40:14). The Bible says simply, “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.” Most of us can relate to that. That is why we are especially grateful that we have a God who never forgets. Sometimes we can feel as though God has forgotten us. We find ourselves in the midst of hardship or difficulty, worse yet, hit with wave upon wave of suffering. We may wonder, “Does God even know what I am going through? Does He even care? Has He forgotten about me?” Noah may have been tempted to feel that way. By the time our text begins, Noah had been holed up in the ark for about 5 months and a week. Think about where you were on August 30 of last year. That’s how long Noah had been on the ark when Chapter 8 begins. The incessant sound of torrential downpour had hammered on the roof of the ark for almost six weeks. The waves of the great flood had bombarded the sides or the ark, tossing it back and forth. His only human companions were his wife and three sons and three daughters-in-law. They were surrounded by animals, and by this time had either grown immune or weary of the odor. Food supplies may have begun to concern them. They may have wondered if they would die on board the ark, or if they would ever be able to emerge from it. It must have felt as though they had been forgotten. But Chapter 8 opens with these simple words, “But God remembered Noah.” Now when you and I “remember” something, it means that something comes to mind that we have previously forgotten. But we also use the term in a different way. Sometimes when we say we “remember” something, it is to say that we could never forget it. We remember our wedding day. We remember where we were on 9/11. We remember our loved ones’ birthdays. How could we forget? And it is this second sense in which the Bible speaks of God remembering. To say that God “remembers” is to say that God never forgets. And so Noah discovered, as must we all, that God never forgets His people or His promises. He remembers. I. God Remembers His People (8:1-20) When we look at the entire flood narrative from Chapter 6 to Chapter 9, we find that this statement, “God remembered Noah,” becomes the turning point of the story. Prior to this statement, the waters are rising. Afterward the waters are receding. Everything before this marks an end of creation as it was known; afterward, everything marks a new beginning. Noah, you will remember, was introduced to us as a unique person of his generation who had “found grace (or favor) in the eyes of the Lord.” God had chosen Noah to be the object of His saving grace. Noah had been invited into a personal relationship with God, which was received by Noah’s faith, and which was maintained by God’s faithfulness. In the security of this personal relationship, there is assurance that God never forgets, but always remembers His people. Because God remembers His people, He works on their behalf. In fact, the Hebrew word “remember” which occurs here in our text indicates far more than just mental recall. Some 73 times in the Old Testament, we read of God “remembering,” and in each case the indication is that God is taking action toward that person.[1] He acts upon His previous commitment to His people. And that is what He is doing here with Noah. Notice that because God remembered Noah, He did something. Verse 1 says that He caused  a wind to pass over the earth, and t