I truly believe one of the enemies greatest weapons against us is forgetfulness.
Let me explain.
The other day I was on a treadmill at the gym and could feel my body getting weaker by the second. I was about half way through a run I had done several times before but I could feel my body getting ready to quit. Not the push “push through!!” kind, the “listen and take a break” kind. So I did. I stopped, stretched, and all the while felt discouraged, annoyed, and panicked about the fact that I couldn’t finish a 2.5 mile run and in 13 weeks I’m supposed to run 13.1 miles. As I was walking towards my car and passed a poster prompting people to share their success stories and it said this: “It makes me happy that I can do a mile.”
Instantly I was transported back to the day we signed up for our half marathon 5 weeks ago when I said to Dan “1 mile sounds just as impossible to me as 13 miles.” I thought of all the times I have tried to get into running and couldn’t, or was stopped because of some health barrier. I thought of the fact that I started at an 18 minute mile and realized I had just run 1.8 15:45 minute miles. I had texted Dan about how poorly the run was going and his response was “you have come such a long way already.”
Have you ever had something similar happen?
This happens to me all. the. time. I was born really really sick, and I still am really really sick. But those two versions of “sick” look extremely different. My current version of “sick” is nothing short of the miracle we have prayed my entire life for. Sometimes God changes circumstances in an instant and sometimes, He does it slowly, in seemingly baby sized steps. For me, healing has taken place over 23 years and I’ve seen healing (of all different types) come to those around me in a similar way. Slowly.
When God chooses the slow path I believe that one of the reasons is so that every step can be celebrated. He can be worshipped for each, incremental improvement and not a single detail can go unnoticed.
But there is also an enemy in the picture, and I believe that it is his M.O. to make sure that we don’t notice those incremental improvement. To make sure we forget our starting point.
Over the years the symptoms have gotten better and gone away entirely and the same thing happens every time. The first few weeks I’m filled with astonishment and praise for the relief God has given me. But in a matter of just a couple months I acclimate to this new version of normal and my mind dwells on the next symptom that I would really love to have relief from. In fact, I’m often reminded by family members of relieved symptoms from years back that I’ve forgotten about entirely.
How does this happen?
In the midst of answers how do we forget the many mornings we started our days asking God for clarity?
When walking down a path how do we forget the days that we asked God to show us what path it was that we were supposed to take?
How do we stand in healthy relationships forgetting the brokenness they once held that we never imagined would be repaired?
How do we live in health forgetting the times we wept and lamented asking for healing from hospital beds?
I believe forgetfulness, or quick acclimation to our “new normal” is one of the enemies biggest weapons against us. And it’s one of the biggest because it’s one of the sneakiest. It’s the one that happens under the radar. His goal is for us to let good things go unnoticed, and so in turn his damaging work goes unnoticed as well.
How do we reverse this? How do we fight back? I think there are a few things we can do but before we go over them we have to start with this reminder: the battle is already won, and it wasn’t won by us.
God has already claimed victory over us and in the name of Jesus the enemy has no claim to any territory in our hearts. We have already been promised deliverance from evil and our God is good to His word. Any action we take to fight against this weapon has to be rooted in His grace and with credit given to His name because He is our strength and our victory. Any effort of ours that are not backed in this truth will be futile and draining. As for steps we can take, let’s dig in.
Father give us eyes to see the truth before us, the truth of your victory. Give us an increased sensitivity to any forgetfulness that may seep into our lives. Humble our hearts to sympathize with your pain when we forget. Quicken our spirits to identify when it is happening. Let us heed your advice. Help us remember.
Awareness.
It has to start here. We have to be aware that this is a tactic. We have to acknowledge that it is happening and seek to identify when it is happening and repent of our role and involvement in allowing it to happen.
We have been warned against this. The Lord did incredible work for the israelites and throughout it all He constantly reminded them not to forget.
“Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.”
Deuteronomy 4:9
“be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
Deuteronomy 6:12
“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt”
Deuteronomy 8:11-15
David lived an incredibly painful life and the Psalms that he wrote are all laced with the same reminder: do not forget.
We need to remind ourselves how it hurts the Lord’s heart when we forget.
“How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?”
Numbers 14:11
We need to bring it down to earth and imagine if we did incredible things for our spouse, or siblings, or parents, or best friends how it would feel if they all just forgot. If they all just focused on the thing they would like us to do for them next.
Recounting.
Taking the time to recall and list out all the ways the Lord has been faithful to us in the past.
All throughout the Old Testament we see examples of this, but let’s look specifically at the Israelites. They made this a regular and habitual practice and I think we should follow suit! They would recount the Lord’s faithfulness after a victory (Exodus 15), before entering new territory (Exodus 20:2), they had holidays designated for it (Leviticus 23), and they built memorials out of rocks as a visual aid to remind them (Joshua 4).
There is clearly power in taking intentional, active, obedient steps to remember and dwell in His past faithfulness. What can that look like in our lives today? Here are some of my favorite ways.
Daily faithfulness Recounting
- Before starting your day thank Him for one way you see His faithfulness in your life right now
- In bed at night, think through all the ways you saw His goodness throughout the day and thank Him for it
- When you get in the car say (out loud) a few ways He has been faithful to you
- When He opens your eyes to a way He has been faithful to you take time to journal about it
- Keep a running list of His goodness to you on a cute chalkboard in your kitchen, or on a notecard on your bathroom mirror. Anywhere you will see it often
- Ask the people closest to you to remind you when they see you forgetting
Monumental Faithfulness Recounting
- On holidays, anniversaries, and each year on your birthday make a list (with actual pen and paper) of all the ways He has been faithful to you both in the last year, and in the many years prior.
- Share that list with a friend, with your family, with your kids, out loud.
- Revisit that list when you are feeling discontent
The last thing I want to note about the Israelites is that they repeated the same things over and over. It’s like creating muscle memory. They weren’t coming up with new lists every single time – the point of reviewing is to go back over old material and appreciate it. It’s like studying for a test, the more you focus on the same things, the more you will remember. Nothing is too small to list, focus on each and every detail.
“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me”
Isaiah 46:9
“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.”
Psalm 143:5
Be loud with gratitude & worship.
“A person’s words can be life-giving water; words of true wisdom are as refreshing as a bubbling brook.”
Proverbs 18:4
“Words satisfy the soul as food satisfies the stomach; the right words on a person’s lips bring satisfaction.”
Proverbs 18:20
These verses make it clear that words have power, and an important factor of the Israelites recounting God’s faithfulness was that they did it out loud and with their people. Let’s do the same.
Let’s fight forgetfulness with the power of grateful words. Let’s respond to the enemies attack with worship. For as much as we forget, let’s praise all the more. Let’s speak out loud in our car to God and gather our people to celebrate alongside us. Let’s be loud. The Lord’s biggest act of faithfulness to us will now and forever be the work Christ died on the cross. Let’s start there.
Let us not forget.
When the enemy sneaks in silent and under the radar, let’s catch him and fight back. Let’s loudly, boldly, declare the Lord’s goodness to us. Let’s obsess over how good He has been to us. Let’s fight with praise.
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