Just remember, son, God don’t never leave you.”
–B.N. Rundell (The Trail to Redemption)
“Yes, the Lord has done great things for us, and we are overjoyed.”
–Psalm 126:3 (CEB)
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“Many of our problems arise when we forget to remember,” states Alistair Begg. We tell our children not to play with the stove, the burners are hot. It does us good to see that they follow instructions, but once in a while they forget. I remember my middle granddaughter, Kylee, putting her hand on the top of the stove without thinking or remembering; she will not forget again. We might tell them, “don’t play with matches, you’ll get burned.” If they don’t listen soon there will be burned fingers (or worse) to take care of.
Jesus often used the phrase, “he who has ears to hear, let him hear.” In other words, pay attention–listen! then remember what you have heard. Yes, experience is a great teacher, but as I used to tell my students–remember that experience gives the test first, then teaches the lesson. That is why it is important to learn the Scriptures, to hear what the Spirit is saying through them, to remember what is being said, then put it into practice. All of us, from young to old, have some kind of experience that we can draw upon. Hopefully, we have learned from them. So much of the time, however, we are like the Israelites.
“Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did to you and your fathers: When Jacob had gone into Egypt, and your fathers cried out to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. And when they forgot the LORD their God…” –1 Samuel 12:7-9 (NKJV)
Did you note that last phrase? Look at it, underline it–“they forgot the LORD their God.” Forgetting often brings dire consequences. It could just be a blister on the fingers or it could spell disaster upon a person, family, or even a nation. Never are we to forget our God. Deuteronomy 8:11 gives us a warning, “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today.” (NKJV) Do not be like what became so typical of the Israelites after the death of Joshua. Note the words of Judges 3:7, “So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God…” (NKJV) Instead of remembering God they turned to false gods, idols. What is it that takes our mind away from God? What so easily makes us forget who He is and all that He has done?
Remembering God is not to be a mere function, but a lifestyle. Something that we know is sure, that we depend upon. Alistair Begg writes, in regard to remembering our Creator that, “It means to dwell upon the very ‘Godness’ of God. The Israelites failed to remember Him; in fact, they chose to forget, for it was inconvenient for them to consider God in all His holiness and all His might.” Convenience, that is a problem. It is not “convenient” to get up to attend church. It is not “convenient” to pay tithes and be a good steward. It is not “convenient” to not go along with the crowd.
One of the great tragedies of the church is that most do not know who God is or do not want to remember. People shun the term “theology” which simply means the study of God. Doctrine is forsaken, for doctrine makes us responsible and that would not be “convenient” in many cases. Oh, they might like the love and grace part of His attributes, but throw in wrath and holiness…oh my. Add His sovereignty into the mix, and, well, that’s as much as they can stand.
Part of our problem is that we forget that we are children of God. We forget the road we are traveling on. We forget to pick up our cross. Often we blatantly push thoughts of God aside and choose to forget Him. “Whenever we deviate from the narrow path, whenever we seek to slip out from underneath our almighty King’s jurisdiction, we are failing to remember who God is and what He has done for us.” (Begg) We forget the words that the writer of Hebrews penned under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that “God is a consuming fire” (12:29) or the words that God gave to Moses for “God is a jealous God.” (Exodus 34:14)
It would do us good to remember the lyrics from a song once popular. “Hasn’t He always come through for you? He’s the same now as then…and He’ll do it again…” (Dawn Thomas) It would do us good to remember the works of God in the past in our lives. It would do us good to remember that He is the God who is always there.