Sometimes you feel like the walls around you are closing in; or you are drifting in a dark tunnel unsure of where it is taking you. In times of adversity or crisis our memories can be slaves to gloom. A despondent mind will remember dark details and expand upon the dismal realities of the present.
Let’s look at two examples in Scripture:
My soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.
You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
[Psalm 77:2-4]
Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!
My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.
[Lamentations 3:19–20]
These are examples of God’s people praying their emotions with raw honesty. They admit that their struggles are in the bitter providence of God. In these times your self-talk can be wearing a deep rut in a negative direction, but as C.H. Spurgeon said, “That same recollection that on the one hand brings so many gloomy omens may be trained instead to provide a wealth of hopeful signs.” At this point Asaph and Jeremiah help us with a pivotal undertaking – anchoring their remembering in what is unchanging.
As persons made in God’s image, they engaged the selective power of what occupied their minds. “My spirit made a diligent search,” cried Asaph. “This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope,” affirmed Jeremiah. They rehearsed the character and kept promises of God through his mighty acts of grace. Their conclusions were the same – God is not like us; he is like what he has done. He is faithful, and he does all things well.
We are called to interpret our present circumstances in light of God’s known faithfulness in the past. Remember the loving kindness of the Lord and rehearse his deeds of grace. Forgetfulness is one of humanity’s greatest spiritual maladies, which is why the Scriptures constantly call us to remember (see 2 Peter 1:3-14). Forgetfulness will lead to wandering from God, but fresh experiential knowledge of God (remembering and following – even when you don’t feel like it) will lead you to a walk of enduring hope garnished with joy and mystifying peace (Philippians 4:4-9).
Copyright © 2023 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.