Easily Forgotten

Recently in our Sunday School class, we were given five minutes to write down all the things God has given us. The teacher could have given us five hours, but it still wouldn’t have been enough time to list all our blessings. Everyone’s list had a wide range from their homes, family, health, freedom, peace, salvation, joy, forgiveness, jobs, and eternal life. As the teacher pointed out some items were earthly gifts, others would transcend into our eternal life. It was a good way to start the Sunday morning off by being intentional about giving God the praise and thanks for all he has done. It was a lesson we should be in a habit of practicing each day, especially on those days where life has us feeling defeated.

It made me ponder on the thought of why do we so easily forget the good our Heavenly Father has done for us. I’ll be the first to say, I get spiritual amnesia way to often. Every day, God is working in our lives, whether it is on center stage or behind the scenes. Every day he brings gifts into our life. Even on the worst days, we can have a heart of gratitude because God is still a good father. But for some reason, all the blessings just fade from my mind when trouble comes knocking. The good gets pushed to the back, while the bad is now front and center of my focus. Some of the reasons I came up with as far as why I get spiritual amnesia are:

• I am human, my flesh is imperfect
• I do not make God a priority
• I have an enemy who wants to consume my thoughts
• Easily distracted
• Busy schedules

I dare say, we have all been in a position where we have felt forgotten. I don’t think anyone enjoys being overlooked or ignored. I just went through a season where I had to fight off these type of emotions. Satan would love for us to feel “not good enough”. It was important that I sought out the truth of the situation and reeled my emotions in. Just because I felt that way does not make it necessarily the truth. Our emotions can deceive us at times. Ask God to help you see the truth. That is a lesson that is hard to grasp, but once you understand this, it helps you process your emotions in a healthy way. People may forget about us, but our creator never will. But what about God? The one who created us, who loves us and knows the number of hairs on our head. The one who knows our birth and death date and all the in between. How much more does it grieve him when we forget what all he has done for us? How his heart must hurt when he is there with his hand held out, only for us to retrieve ours. How about in those quiet moments when he sits patiently with us, only to be ignored and not spoken to.

May we strive to spend time each day thanking God for the gifts we have. Let’s try to be intentional about going beyond the things you can touch (material things), but think about our senses and the objects we can see, taste, hear, smell and feel (referring more to emotions). Recall not only the big blessings, but the small ones too. Focus on the eternal gifts. Take time to write them down in a notebook. Keep a prayer journal and go back from time to time and read your prayers and remember the things he has done. Not only is he worthy of our thoughts, but you will find it beneficial as well for your mind, perspective, and attitude.

Feel free on sharing ways that you have found helpful on remembering God’s goodness in your own life.

Keep moving forward,

Hayley W