Have you ever forget anything major? I’m sure you have, you just forgot! That’s not the case with Jill Price. I recently saw a TV newsmagazine that chronicled her life of 42 years. She remembers things from early teens. Not just things…everything! Every last detail of any day, hour, week, year, down to what she wore & how the weather was is stored in her brain & pulled up at a second’s recollection. Sounds like a major blessing, never forgetting an anniversary, birthday, special occasion or person. Thing is, she also remembers with clarity all the pain & bad things. She has struggled with depression remember, NO reliving every painful moment of life. God allows our brains the blessing of forgetting for a reason. Our psyche is held in sanity by how our brain copes with terrible tragic events, namely forgetting. You can find her story in her recent book, The Woman Who Could Not Forget.
I was sharing with our staff a devotional thought the other day about how God actually forgets some things. Before you go off & burn me at a stake for heresy hear me out. When we ask forgiveness for our sin, God doesn’t actually ‘forget,’ He simply chooses to remember them no more. We often struggle with forgiving and forgetting. God is God. He doesn’t. The bible has numerous references to how He ‘blots out your transgressions…” & He says “I will not remember your sins.” He puts them “behind Him” and “casts them as far as the east is from the west.”
Trick is we have to confess our sins. We have to admit we sin & repent. I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
wickedness.” I’m thankful He’s not tallying up all the bad things I’ve done. I’m thankful He cleanses me from wickedness also. Wish I could keep the record perfect but it’s a daily battle as long as I live in this house of skin.
As I was sharing the devotional thought, my pastor reminded us that not only does God forgive us & realize our weakness, He also knows our future & the ‘might have beens’ that could be if we let Him have complete control. He coined a phrase I want to remember: “God remembers the future.” That’s awesome. He’s God and transcends time & space (heck, He created it), so He sees what’s been & what will be. It’s like this, He not only saw you before you were born, He knows if you will accept His life & sees you in heaven! That’s enough to make a simple guy like me have a headache just thinking about it!
“God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And having called them, He gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory.” Romans 8:29-30 NLT
The next time you are confronted by Satan as to how you are a lowly rotten sinner not worthy of God’s love & mercy, even after you’ve asked for forgiveness and cleansing, simply remind him that God chooses to forget! It’s covered by the cleansing blood of Christ. That’s ‘church talk’ for a rich, healing forgiveness that only Jesus can bring to bear. If you’re curious about this thought or want to continue this whole deep subject email, text, message, or blog me.
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Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org cell 870-217-9376
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