Psalm 106:21-22

Psalm 106:21-22

Don't forget

The point has been made before; we humans have a proclivity to forget. Life is full, days come and go, a week seems like a month and a month like a year. Memories of childhood and youth fade and grow misty with time. We are so engaged with the here and now that large chunks of our lives pass by unremembered, that is if we ever stop and try to remember! How easy it is to forget, to be unable to recall past experiences and important moments that revolutionised our lives. People too come and go, and we forget their names and the friendships we shared. That holiday that was so vivid and memorable for weeks after it ended, is now just a passing dream, something that happened years ago and left a pleasant feeling. 

The real tragedy is that we can so easily forget what the Lord God has done for us. The Israelites actually forgot that He delivered them from Egypt, that He worked miracles in that country and saved His people from wretched slavery. They forgot the miraculous events at the Red Sea when the waters rolled back and allowed them safe passage, only to return to their place and bury the entire Egyptian army. What a day that was! What a deliverance! What a mighty act of God that saved up to 2 million people. That was the beginning of a long history of God’s intervention in the lives of these chosen ones, but still they forgot. They were so involved in their petty, everyday lives that the memories faded and the redemption of the Lord was neglected.

I suspect that we can all identify with this. God has worked wonders in our lives too. He saved us from the even deadlier perils of sin. He wiped our slates clean and opened the way to eternal life. He conquered death and invited us to be participants in His new family. He poured His Holy Spirit upon us and anointed us with the oil of joy. And yet there are days when we forget, we fail to remember His goodness and His faithfulness and His love. Forgive us Lord. 

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