Surely We Remember

Every once in a while; we develop a temporary dose of amnesia. We encounter a moment of indecision or we feel another pity party coming on or someone treats us in a way we feel that we don’t deserve and that causes us to temporarily “lose it”. In our minds, we know the spiritual way to respond to these situations, but something about that particular period of time leads us to go against our spiritual instincts.

• We have been living a life of sexual morality, but something about this particular time caused us to fall.
• We have been doing the whole “loving our enemies” thing, but something about that person led us to “go off”.
• We have been paying our tithes consistently, but something about that pair of shoes or that big screen tv made us spend money unwisely.
• We have been consistently praying, but something about how our days have been going lately made us conveniently “forget” to pray during our normal prayer time.
• We have been basking in the glow of God’s faithfulness and providence, but something about this particular challenge caused us to question if He is able to deliver.

These and other instances of doing something that we should not do are examples of how we can experience spiritual amnesia.

When that sea of forgetfulness approaches, what can Christian singles do? There is a gospel song where the listener is urged to reach beyond the break. What this means is that we need to focus not on the problem but on the solution. But what about those times when we don’t know what the solution is? We can still steer our attention away from the problem and look to God.

But what exactly does “look to God” mean? First, accept your own limitation. That should not be difficult since we know that we can’t do it all or fix everything. Secondly (and perhaps more importantly); looking to God means sincerely acknowledging that He is in control. But that acknowledgment should not stop there. The next step is to acknowledge that God is also involved. That’s the most wonderful thing here. God is not only in control, but He is also in the mix.

So, let’s not be too hard on ourselves. We are human and we are vulnerable to falling down. The key is to not wallow in self-guilt but to admit our responsibility and vow to move forward. Whether it is succumbing to sexual temptation, not paying our tithes, not praying, not loving our enemies, not trusting God or whatever is the temporary moment of spiritual amnesia; we must take solace in the reality that God is constantly empowering us to become more like He has envisioned us to become. If we look back and see with our spiritual eyes, we will recognize that God has been working on our case each step along the way. If we are honest with ourselves, when it comes to God being true to His promises; we will have to admit that SURELY WE REMEMBER.