Posts Tagged ‘remember’

   Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:20

A few years ago a friend was going through a scary time of symptoms and tests and waiting for a diagnosis.  I talked to her the day she was going for the first test. She told me that she had received assurance from God that all was going to be fine. She did not know if she was about to discover a life threatening diagnosis or something easy to treat. What she was sure of was that either way, God was in it and He would use it for good.

She stayed in touch as usual over the next few weeks. The process was long and drawn out in between doctor appointments.  At some point she became afraid and was starting to worry about the outcome.

What a gift that we had talked about God’s assurance that all would be well in the end. She had forgotten! That’s hard to believe, isn’t it?  When God gives us those very personal promises wouldn’t you think that we would remember them?

Instead, we forget just like the Israelites did.  God brought them out of Egypt with wealth from the Egyptians (Exodus 12:36), He parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14), and provided manna and quail for them to eat (Exodus 16).  The list goes on and on but when Moses was gone a few days too long they forgot all of that. They built the golden calf and worshiped it (Exodus 32), forgetting God and all He had done for them!

My point is that forgetting seems to be a part of human nature from the earliest recorded events in human history.  God gives us blessings in big and small ways and we forget quickly and start to look for something else to bring us happiness.  Some of us to food or other people. We forget that it’s God alone who can help us, comfort us, keep us, provide for us, and bless us.

One of the promises of the Christian life is that there will be difficulties.  The world hated Jesus so they will hate His followers.  Our physical bodies will fail us and there will be sickness. Other people will disappoint us and deceive us.  This world is fallen and we live in it.  Stuff will happen to us and we will do stuff that we will regret.

Paul told the Corinthians, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1Corinthians 10:13).

That word temptation is translated other places as trial or test. God is faithful to us in the tests of faith that are common to all of us. We can endure them because He will help us through. What we have to do is remember to turn to Him and ask Him for help.

So, how has God provided for you and me that can remember the next time we need it?

When it’s over and we have seen Him work, will we remember to be grateful to our faithful God for His steadfast love.