Thursday, August 3, 2023 Some material taken from Forty-five Minutes at Sixty-three Feet by John Strappazon
Only be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Deuteronomy 4:9
The Liabilities of Forgetting God's Faithfulness
This week we have been talking about trouble. It comes into everyone’s life at some point and the way we handle it makes all the difference in the world. We have learned that we should turn to God first, grab perspective, and remember God’s goodness and faithfulness. While we know there are many advantages of remembering the good things God has done and how He has come through in our troubled times, there are some real detriments to forgetting His goodness during trials.
This past Sunday, John Strappazon gave us four reasons why forgetting God’s faithfulness comes with liabilities.
Forgetting encourages going back to our hard-wired preset of trusting ourselves.
When trouble comes, we may panic and immediately begin to try to fix the problem. What a mess. Trouble is already knocking on the door and the minute I begin to try to fix it, I know, from past experience, that I am going to create more trouble in the process. Nothing will bring hopelessness into a situation faster than thinking that we are our only hope.
Forgetting breeds anxiety about the present.
When we forget that God is still in control, He is still good, and He is still faithful, we are only focusing on our trouble. Not focusing on God makes the trouble seem so much worse and creates anxiety. The only thing this will do is make us sick and make the process that much longer because we are incapacitated in our worry.
Forgetting feeds fear about the future.
Forgetting that we can trust God and that He has already been in all our tomorrows will make our mind run wild with all kinds of thoughts about what if or what could happen. He holds the future and when we remember this we can smother our fear with peace and know that He has a plan.
Forgetting intensifies the feeling that I might be facing life alone.
We are never alone. The Bible tells us God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 God promises that He will never leave us alone. Once we become His child, we get the Holy Spirit who wraps around us like a blanket. That is how close He is all the time. He is our helper who helps us through everything we face in life. He is our comforter too. And… He helps us remember. We may be tempted to think that God has left us alone on the days when we feel the heaviness of despair, but that is not the truth.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26
When we look at these four liabilities, we can see that they will not help us at all to get through our troubled times. They will paralyze us and keep us from focusing on God and remembering His goodness and provision. Remembering and focusing on Him gives us the strength to get through the troubled times with peace and rest knowing we can trust Him today and every day after.
Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. Hebrews 13:5-6
