The start of a new year is a great time for looking back—not with mere nostalgia, but to get our bearings for moving forward.
The Bible is full of commands to “remember,” “don’t forget”: remember God; do not forget God’s promises and warnings. One classic example is Deuteronomy 8 where Moses challenges the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land to “remember”:
“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not” (v 2). Such a vital insight from the past—how the Lord leads us even through desert places to test us, for our growth and our good.
“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today” (v 11). Disobeying Scripture isn’t just a sign of our regard for right and wrong, it’s a sign we’ve forgotten God!
When you prosper, beware of your heart being “lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (v 14). Danger lurks nearby when success comes—the spiritual danger of forgetting that everything we have has been graciously given to us by God.
“You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth” (v 18). Preventing an attitude of self-sufficiency is one of God’s good purposes for memory.
“And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish” (v 19). We all worship something; our hearts are hard-wired to praise greatness. So let’s make sure it’s the one, true, all-glorious, Creator-Redeemer God we worship: trust in Christ is the path to life; all other ways lead to perishing.
