We are a forgetful people!

I am!

We are blessed in the moment; the moment passes, and we forget.

We are rescued from a circumstance; the circumstance is resolved, and we forget.

We are given direction; the way gets a little cloudy even uncomfortable, and we forget.

We are provided a solution; the solution begins to dwindle or becomes a distant memory, and we forget.

We are healed from a physical or emotional hard place; the temptation to see it as a coincidence or “just as expected” rises up, and we forget.

We are forgiven; the road to complacency and rationalization looks easy, and we forget.

But God says…forget not!

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits!” (Psalm 103:1) Forget not His “gamal” – His good dealings with us! His kindness to us!

“Remember the wonders He has done…” (I Chronicles 16:12)

Each of our circumstances are different; some valleys more deep than others, some roads far more difficult.  But our God is the same; He never changes!  And I know God has proven faithful over and over again in my darkest moments of deep hurt, in my wanderings, in my struggle to see a place of rest, in my greatest needs – materially, relationally, and spiritually.

He has disciplined me out of His great love for me; He has provided and not provided according to His knowledge of what He knows I need – far more than my short-sighted requests.

When I’m on the mountain top, the answers are fresh, and I practically sing aloud with the joy that comes from seeing and experiencing the very precious presence of Almighty God in my moment – whether it be a time of gladness or sorrow, it is easy not to forget; it is easy to rest and be still.

But when the “feelings” fade and the “new” understanding of His faithfulness becomes part of my ordinary and every day, how easy is it to become lazy and even discontent about the way His care is working out, His provision is being manifested, His direction has led.

I might even be tempted to be one of those Israelites who wanted to “go back to Egypt” as the Keith Green song says, “where it’s safe and secure…” Except Egypt never was and our “Egypts” from which God has rescued us (and truth be told, there are many) are not either because they either never were or are no longer where He wants us to dwell either physically or in the wanderings of our mind.

And so, God also says…be careful not to forget! “Be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt…” (Deuteronomy 6:12)

It takes intentionality, a concerted choice to remember because we are so easily prone to wander, so apt to deviate from the intended path He has set for us.

It also takes obedience to remember because disobedience to God clouds our recollections of His faithfulness, His goodness, His provision. Defiance, because that really is what disobedience is, blinds us to the remembrance of reality and gives us a distorted memory of what was before His rescue.

Self-reliance is also a form of disobedience that so quickly causes us to forget our need for dependence on Him in all circumstances.

“Be careful not to forget the LORD your God by failing to keep His commandments…” (Deuteronomy 8:11)

We often see His commands as restrictive when, in truth, they are freedom; they keep us from becoming settled in self-reliance and entangled in things that are contrary to the character of God and will ultimately break our hearts and crush our spirits.  Self-reliance causes us to forget our true need for dependence on Him in all circumstances.

His commands give life and they give us eyes to see Him at work; disobedience and forgetfulness leads us to discontentment with the people and circumstances He has purposely placed in our lives and an arrogance towards God…just like the Israelites in the desert.

“But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His plan to unfold. In the desert, they gave in to their craving; in the wilderness, they put God to the test.” (Psalm 116:13-14)

When His answers aren’t comfortable and they rock my world, “remembering” helps me stay the course and wait to “see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13)

I don’t know what your wilderness is, where your desert place might be – but I have been there and, at times, still find myself in those places. I have cried out to God in humility and I have called out to Him in arrogance demanding that He “fix” what was hurting my heart – whether it be personally or for one I love.

But it is in those desert places we are the most vulnerable to forget. It is in those wilderness times that we are apt to listen to the false whispers of the enemy of our souls that ask, “Did God really say?” “Why did He take you here?” “Why does He not do good to you when you have been faithful (as if our ‘faithfulness’ was even close enough to be tacked on as a reason)?” “What will it hurt if you walk just off the road He has for you rather than directly on it?”

(Again forgetting that God said, “’Ah, stubborn children,’ declares the Lord, ‘who carry out a plan, but not mine…that they may add sin to sin…your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” – Isaiah 30:1, 21)

And it is in those moments of question, those moments of potential compromise that we must cry out…I WILL REMEMBER; that we will proclaim truth from the depths of our souls regardless of whether or not we “feel” the truth!

It is also in the wilderness, when in humble reliance on Him we let go of our self rule a little more, we can settle our hearts even more in the sovereign control of our very good God; we can “dwell in the shelter of the Most High” and “abide in the shadow of the Almighty!” (Psalm 91:1)

In this journey of remembering, of this call to not forget, we can “encourage one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ so that none of (us) may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13) that so often comes from a heart that forgets!

“I WILL remember the deeds of the LORD…” (Psalm 77:11)

“I WILL bless the LORD at all times; His praise WILL continually be in my mouth…I sought the LORD and He ANSWERED me and He DELIVERED me from all my fears! Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces will never be covered in shame!” (Psalm 34:1,4-5)

“Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. For you, LORD, have delivered…my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.” (Psalm 116:7-9)

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I love this song by Steven Curtis Chapman…be encouraged to remember!

Remember to Remember

Well, I’ve been looking back over my shoulder
Retracing every step trying to unforget
And I see the mountaintops I’ve journeyed over
And I see the valleys deep where I crawled on my hands and knees
Pages and memories filled with joy and stained with tears
They call my name and if I listen, I can hear them saying

[Chorus 1]
Remember the way He led you up to the top of the highest mountain
Remember the way He carried you through the deepest dark
Remember His promises for every step on the road ahead
Look where you’ve been and where you’re going
And remember to remember
Remember, remember

And now I’m looking out at the road that’s waiting
But my eyes can only see so far out ahead of me
As sure as the sun will shine there’ll be more mountains I will climb
And more deep dark shadowlands where desperate faith is all I have
Until I’m home, I’m resting all my hope and trust
In the only One whose name is: God with us

[Chorus 2]
Remember the way He led us up to the top of the highest mountain
Remember the way He carried us through the deepest dark
Remember His promises for every step on the road ahead
Look where we’ve been and where we’re going
And remember to remember

[Bridge]
Remember the day is coming when He’s going to wipe the tears away
He’ll look in our eyes and say:
Remember the way I led you off the mountain
Remember the way I carried you, ohh

[Chorus 3]
Remember the way I led you up to the top of the highest mountain
Remember the way I carried you through the deepest dark
Remember my promises for every step on the road ahead
Look where you’ve been and where you’re going
Look where we’ve been and where we’re going
And remember to remember…