One of the biggest reasons we falter in our walk with the Lord is because we forget. We forget who he is, we forget what he’s done, we forget who we are in Christ, we forget his promises—and so much more.
As I was reading through Psalm 19 recently, I was struck by verse 10, which proclaims, “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”1 I immediately prayed, “Lord, help me remember how sweet your Word is.”
Additionally, earlier in the same Psalm, it says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (v. 7). Again, I instantly prayed, “Father, help me remember that your Word revives my soul.”
These two instances made me think about how much we forget. We continually need help remembering how good God is, and what he’s provided for us to get through our walk with Jesus. So let’s practice this and ask the Lord to help us remember some vital things.
Remember God’s providential care. We don’t walk through life alone, even if it may seem like that sometimes. God is always with us; he cares for his children. If he feeds the birds of the air and causes the rain to fall on everyone, how much more will he care and provide for those whom he saved?
It’s quite easy, unfortunately, to forget God’s providential care. It’s easy to neglect the fact that God is with us, provides for us, and will never leave us. We start living our days supposedly independent from the Lord and that’s when things go haywire. We forget that God is always taking care of us—even when it doesn’t feel like it.
Remember the sufficiency of the Bible. We might say we believe the Bible is sufficient for our lives, but what do our actions say? Do we turn to Scripture more or social media? Do we saturate ourselves with the Bible or would we rather watch YouTube? Is it easier to read a few chapters of Romans or is it easier to read the latest news online?
The Bible is sufficient for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). We have all we need in Holy Scripture. But again and again we forget that. We don’t remember the sufficiency of Scripture and go about life our own way with our own wisdom, not the Lord’s. We must ask God to help us remember that he’s given us his Word, and his Word is more than sufficient to meet our daily needs.
Remember Jesus’s finished work. It is when we forget what God did for us through Jesus Christ that our life begins to unravel. We don’t take our thoughts captive, our guard is let down, we fall prey to all sorts of temptation. We take our eyes off Jesus. We forget what he did.
And what he did was vital, to say the least. We must remember his perfectly righteous life pleasing to the Father; we must remember that he didn’t break God’s law once; we must remember that Jesus perfectly obeyed and honored his parents, always loved his neighbor, and did everything else right that we all do wrong. And that’s just his life. We must also remember his substitutionary death on our behalf; we must remember him hanging there on the cross, gasping for air, but proclaiming that “it is finished” (John 19:30) and dying a sinner’s death. That was for us!
And, of course, we must ask the Lord to help us remember his victorious resurrection. Jesus didn’t stay dead, but rose from the grave three days later to vindicate himself and proclaim victory over sin, death, and Satan. When we meditate on the person and work of Jesus Christ—when we remember what he did—our walks with the Lord should go well.
So, ask the Lord to help you. We all need to do that. Lord, help us remember that we are safe and secure in your loving, sovereign arms. And that’s the best place to be.
I cannot read this verse without singing the melody of the song in my head.