Have you ever gone on a great vacation and then the next week after getting back in town and back to work you forget all about? Then you see the pictures and it brings it all back? Have you ever seen a great sports game (the Super Bowl two weeks ago), but now you can not remember who even won the game? Have you ever prayed for something so bad, then all of the sudden you kind of forgot that you were praying for it and the next week it turned out that the prayer was answered, but you didn't even realize it because you were on to the next thing?
In the book of Judges from the OT the people basically forget about God over and over again. When I first read some of it I remember thinking, how can these people forget God, especially after He delivers them from slavery by overcoming overwhelming odds and perfoming miracles right in front of their eyes? I couldn't understand how they could forget, but then I really thought about it and remembered that I always forget too.
I look for ways not to forget, and I have found one way that helps through personal experience. If you do not live every second you can in the Presence of God then you forget rather quickly. Living every second in the Presence of God does not mean that you live sin free. Although you can try, you still can't do it, but if you are in the Presence of God often, then you quickly realize and identify your daily sins and deal with them on a daily basis. I often brush through a quick non-heartfelt prayer before I eat dinner because it is what you are "supposed to do". Then I thought, why not try to pray on the spot all day, every day whenever I think of it. I have latched onto this idea for some time now and feel a greater connection in my prayer life instead of waiting for specific times of the day to pray. When I am practicing this, I tend not to forget all of the blessings in my life. I tend not to forget to notice beautiful clouds in the sky on my way home from work. I tend not to forget to be encouraging to others.
There are still times where I find new things to think about, then I fall out of range and I forget about God. There comes a time during the forgetfullness where it hits and you realize the time that has passed since you have forgotten. Then you are crushed and you come running back to return to God. I'm sure this is how the people in Judges felt. I can relate to them.
Bottom Line - The only things we remember are the things we have engrained into our hearts. What is engrained in your heart?
1 comment:
I was just reading John 6 the other day, and I was thinking the same thing. It's the story titled "Jesus feeds five thousand". Basically, Jesus feeds 5,000 people (or maybe more, because I think I've heard that maybe the women and children weren't counted in the 5,000?) with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Not only did the small amount of food feed everyone, but there were 12 baskets of leftovers! It then states "When the people saw him[b] do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” Then, reading on, you come to verse 30 which reads "They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do?"" After I read it I thought - seriously?! A day later and 5,000 people forget that the day before Jesus fed all of them with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish? But, I guess you are right. If I sit back and examine my own life, there are times when I repeatedly forget the things that God tells me or teaches me. At one time I was really good about writing down my prayers, and it was good to go back and reflect on answers God had given, or realize things that God had taught me, or was teaching me. It's a good reminder that Jesus is with us and being active in our lives. I need to get out my prayer journal again. I don't want to be part of the crowd.
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