Never Forget!
By Susan Klein
“Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without
water? While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass. Such
is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless.”
Job 8:11-13 (NIV)
My daughter is a
Spanish teacher. She uses the language everyday in her classroom. She also
tutors the son of a mutual friend who is struggling with the language in
school. I stepped in to tutor for her once when she was unavailable. While I
took four years of Spanish in high school, I was quite rusty with the language after
so many years had passed with minimal usage. We managed to muddle through, but
only because my daughter had done the work ahead of time for us. As is often
said with foreign languages, “If you don’t use it, you lose it!”
The same is true for
many things. You don’t play an instrument for years, it becomes difficult to
pick up again. You don’t make a recipe for a long time, you forget some of the
ingredients or steps. You pay someone else to change your tires, you might forget
how to do it yourself.
Some things are okay
to forget. Others are not. In the story of Job, his friends don’t always offer
the best advice for his circumstances, but one thing they do get right. They
admonish that we never “forget God.” We never forget all the things He has done
in the past to teach us how to live in the present. We never forget all the
promises He makes that inspire our eternal hope. We never forget to fill our
minds with His written Word so we won’t “wither more quickly than grass” when
the pressures of life beat down on us.
It’s natural for us
to forget things, especially as we age. But we can choose to practice, we can
choose to re-read, we can choose to commit to memory and we can choose to steep
our minds in the things of eternal value. We can invest in preserving our hope!
As you journey
through your day-to-day activities, challenges and hardships, choose to be
mindful of not forgetting the One who created you, who has plans for you, who
walks beside you, and who loves you immensely!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Are there some things about God you might be
“forgetting”? What can you do to strengthen your memory?
2. Try keeping a journal, writing
out Scripture, or engaging in a small group to help you retain and recall God’s
Word more successfully.
FURTHER
READING:
Susan is married to Mark, and
co-leads an in-home small group. She serves as a mentor to young women, and is
a member of Oakwood’s Peace Team, helping people work through conflict.
