Easter is just around the corner! Click here to find out more information

Forget & Fail

by Justin Smith on May 18, 2022

Scripture

"They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them." (Psalm 78:11)

Observation

What if I told you that forgetting is one of the most dangerous things you could ever do in life. I know that sounds a little dramatic, but it’s true! Now, I’m not talking about forgetting your anniversary, or forgetting where you put your glasses, or forgetting to pick up your kid...well, that last one is pretty bad. I’m talking about forgetting the blessings. Hear me out: I remember the first time I pursued Danice, my wife. I thought she was so pretty, so smart, so gifted, and so perfect. But if I were honest, I often forget! I forget how I once felt, I forget all of her incredible attributes, I forget how amazing she is, I forget how she is a blessing from God, and my forgetting becomes fodder for fights. My forgetting actually leads to my failure! 

Believe it or not, this principal rings true in virtually every arena of life. In fact, even God and His Word warn of the danger that comes from forgetting!

In Psalm 78 Asaph is writing to teach God’s people about the goodness of God and the rebellion of His people. Time after time they would experience His deliverance, they would see His salvation, they would witness impossible miracles, yet time after time they would stray from obedience, drift from surrender, and fall from trust. He divided seas, He guided them with pillars of cloud and fire, He gave them water from a rock, yet it wasn’t long before they returned to disobedience and rebellion. 

And in verse 11 Asaph identifies one major misstep, "They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.” They forgot the hope He brought to their desperation, they forgot the freedom He brought to their oppression, they forgot the peace He brought to their chaos, and that would ultimately lead to their disobedience. By acknowledging that their forgetting led to their failure, he is in turn teaching that if they would have remembered and responded they would have been able to remain: remain faithful, remain obedient, remain under His covering, remain in His will, remain His blessed people.

Forget and Fail: Remember and Remain

Application

So if remembering is so key to my remaining and forgetting is so easy, what am I doing to ensure I remember.

  1. Count and Recount your blessings: I regularly count and recount the old church I was at and how we were lucky to see 1 person receive Jesus at our services per year, and at New Hope it’s God’s weekly anointing. What an amazing church we are now a part of! So when my body is tired, when my mind is weary, when my emotions are fleeting, and I don’t want to go to “work”, I must count and recount, remember and remain!
  2. Count and Recount your blessings. Wait, isn’t that the same as #1? Yup! When my kids annoy me, when my wife gets on my last nerve, when I feel stressed out, when I feel wronged, when it feels like there’s drama all around me...it’s in those times that I need to stop and count and recount His goodness, His blessings, His deliverance.
  3. Count and Recount. Are you sensing a common theme? The point: forgetting comes natural and remembering doesn’t, so do what you have to do! 

Prayer

Jesus, please forgive me for dishonoring You by forgetting just how good You are, just how faithful You are, just how “on time” You are, just how loving You are, and forgive me for allowing my forgetting to become the source of my failing. May I not choose to remember, just so I can be blessed, but may I remember just because You are that worthy and my actions and daily life should be a reflection of that truth! In Your name, Amen.

Name:


Previous Page