Restless Until You Remember

"I'm restless until I rest in You." Audrey Assad

I've been thinking a lot recently about what a wise old man at the nursing home said to me this week: "God never leaves or forsakes us, but how easily we forget it."

It is so true. I don't know about you, but I forget so easily some of the things the Lord speaks to me about. I forget some of His promises on my bad days. I forget that I am the daughter of the most high God. But, I wonder why? Why do we forget? Why is it that the first thing we think of in the morning is often a t-do list or a planned agenda of our day rather thing waking up to "His mercies that are new each morning" or "Do not be discouraged or afraid today". Or maybe you aren't task oriented like I am, maybe you are relationally oriented, and the first thing you think of in the morning is all of the people you need to get in touch with. My devotional this morning said "My children teethe on the truth that I am always with them, yet they stumble around in a stupor unaware of My loving presence all around them. How that grieves Me."
Do you wake up or go to bed in a stupor (apathy caused by stress or shock)? Do you feel dull at times?
Do you think it has something to do with knowing God's promises in your mind and knowing God's promises in your heart? The Word says to "Guard your heart for it is the wellspring of  life." (Prov. 4:23) How is your heart today?

Maybe the reason we so easily forget is that the promises, declarations, teachings, etc have not reached our heart. We haven't given them a chance to marinate, to stir, or to develop our hearts.

"But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does he prospers." Psalm 1:2-2

Trees planted by water are rich and fruitful.
Hearts that meditate on God's word are more than knowledgable, they are deeply rooted in the promises of God.
Knowledge can come and go. The byproduct that is produced in our hearts is there to stay.
Same goes with knowing and doing. I can know all I want about a specific topic, but unless I am acting based on my knowledge, that knowledge runs the risk of disappearing. I can know all I want about what it means to be compassionate, but unless it is acted out compassion won't mean a thing to me.
"He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:8

Are you forgetting some of the most important things in life that are from the Word of God? Have you forgotten what your First Love once spoke to you about?

John Eldredge seems to experience the same thing:
Forgetting is no small problem. Of all the enemies our hearts must face, this may be the worst because it is insidious. Forgetfulness does not come against us like an enemy in full battle formation, banners waving. Nor does it come temptingly, seductively, the lady in red. It works slowly, commonly, unnoticed. Such is the work of forgetfulness. It cuts us off from our life so slowly, we barely notice, until one day the blooms of our faith are suddenly gone.


I encourage you to forget not the promises of the Lord today and all He has done for us. May you bear fruit, grow in thankfullness, and may your heart dwell in the goodness of God as you remember and not forget.