Forgetfulness is a terrible and sad state that many people find themselves in, particularly in their senior years. Many of us have parents or grandparents who are or who have been at the stage of dementia. We ache with them as they struggle to remember family members, important events and even how to do the basic things in daily life. It is even more tragic and sad when Christians develop spiritual dementia and begin to forget who their God is, what He has done, what He continues to do and what He has promised to do in the future. We seem to so easily forget what we have learned through the study of the God’s word. We quickly forget how He blesses us daily and how He guides us through the difficulties of life in a fallen and sinful world.
Today’s Bible reading is a most excellent one. It is a song of praise as David remembers how the Lord God has constantly rescued the people of Israel. He reinforces that God has called them to be His people whom He loves and cherishes. Even though they bring Him great angst through their forgetfulness and sin, He reaches down to them and protects them from aggressors and the traps and snares of their foes.
This is a timely reminder for us too. We sometimes are so consumed by our particular and personal situations that every now and then we begin to drown under the weight of our problems. Many of our problems come from our forgetfulness to choose to walk the narrow path daily under the leadership and guidance of our Lord and King! The snares that Satan sets for us are quick to entrap us and soon we fall into sin. I think the primary sin that impacts us is the one of self-centeredness and out of this one sin flows many others – greed, critical spirits, gossip, slander, pride, laziness and the list goes on.
Let us all remember who we are in Christ and what He has done for us and continues to do for us. Let us wake every morning placing our allegiance and total dependence on Him. Let us be like David and say, “My help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”