What Israel forgot

In reading through the Bible, I have once again arrived at the Psalms. (Some years I use a system that reads an individual psalm each day, but this time I'm reading straight through.) By reading through the entire book over a few days, you can pick up repeated themes and phrases that the psalmists use, which can be very enlightening.

There are a number of psalms that refer to the events of Israel's past. These historical reminisces served as a reminder to Israel of what the Lord had done for them, both in blessing and in judgment. In a corporate setting, they would be a call to the congregation to pause and reflect on the relationship between Israel and God.

One word that struck e as I read through this time was the word "forgot." After recounting many of the awesome acts of God, several psalms note that Israel forgot what god had done and went their own way, chasing after other gods. As a result, they came under the Lord's judgment.

The psalmists don't dwell on why Israel forgot. They had the Tabernacle, and later the Temple, as well as the Law and the other extant scriptures. There were priests, Levites, and prophets to teach and remind the people of the Lord's work. I suspect there were two major reasons. First, that when they didn't need the Lord to do great and awesome things, they grew complacent and ignored the fact that God was active in their lives every day. Second, when they didn't see everything go their way, they were tempted to follow the latest "god" who promised to fulfill their desires.

These same reasons, complacency and selfish desire, are just as tempting today. My family is currently going through some struggles, and I'll admit I started wondering when God was going to do something about it. I forgot all the times that He had been faithful, and even beyond faithful, in bringing us through tough times before. As the situations are beginning to resolve, I freely acknowledge my own shame and embarrassment at my wavering faith.

To cure myself, I started doing what the psalmists did: writing down all that God had done for me and for my family in the past. As I recalled His faithfulness, I gained encouragement through the memory of His love, mercy, and faithfulness (as well as a stinging sense of rebuke at my own "forgetting"). It was an exercise well worth the time and effort, as it brought back my lapsed memory of the goodness of God.

So let me recommend this: if you're going through some hard times right now, stop and write down all the times you can recall that God brought you through the trials and into blessing. Think of how He has provided for you, how He has comforted you, and how He has blessed you even through the tough times. If you're like me, when you do this you will regain a sense of confidence and faith in the Lord, and be encouraged as you continue to go through whatever you are experiencing in your life.