I’m horrible with names. Terrible. Not good at all. There. Now you know. I’m in the ministry…I work with people…and I forget names. I could meet you and in 5 minutes totally forget your name.
It’s not that I don’t value you. It’s not that I don’t want to remember your name. It’s just that…well….I don’t remember.
Some people are really good at it. They try to tell me all their tricks. Use association. Do they remind you of your best friend? Or flower? Or favorite day of the week?
Use repetition, they say. Repeat it over and over and over again when you first meet them. Hello, Jennifer. It’s nice to meet you, Jennifer. What a lovely name, Jennifer. My bff’s name is Jennifer. I’m sure I won’t forget your name, Jennifer.
Walk away….what was her name?
Sigh…..I’m just gonna plead mommy brain (information overload) and leave it at that!
“I, yes I, am the one who comforts you.
So why are you afraid of mere humans,
who wither like the grass and disappear?
Yet you have forgotten the Lord, your Creator,
the one who stretched out the sky like a canopy
and laid the foundations of the earth. (Isaiah 51:12-13 NLT)
It’s like God was saying to them, “Hellooooo??? Why are you afraid? Don’t you remember who I am? What I can do???”
Fear and forgetting the Lord go hand in hand. When we’re afraid, it’s usually because we’re comparing our situation to our finite abilities. Our limited strength. Our lack.
Whether it’s cancer, debt, addiction, or the storm that is raging outside, if we’re afraid of it, it’s because we’re comparing it to what WE can do about it, which is pretty much nothing.
When we do this, it doesn’t end well. It leaves us hopeless.
It’s just better to compare our situation to how big our God is. Compare it to His power and ability. You know, the One who created everything we see? The One who parted the Red Sea and crushed the walls of Jericho with a shout.
He’s the One who kept the widow’s oil flowing until she had enough to pay off all her debt and then some. He kept another widow’s flour and oil flowing throughout the drought so she and Elijah had food on the table. For years. They didn’t lack at all.
He’s the One who healed all manner of sickness and disease. He healed everyone who came to Him in faith. He raised the dead.
He fed millions of people every day for 40 years with a brand new food called manna. He created it just to provide for them. It never existed before or after those 40 years. How cool is God?
And He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. He still does miracles today. Just because we can’t figure out how He’s going to do it doesn’t mean He isn’t going to. Or won’t. Or can’t. He can and He will!
It’s so easy to focus on what we can see instead of the One in the unseen realm. To get into fear and forget God.
When I was in Bible school, there was a time I didn’t have the money for my tuition and it was coming due. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I started to get really anxious about it and lose sleep over it.
And He spoke so sweetly to my heart. “Look around your apartment and start thanking Me for everything you see that I provided for you.”
Well….that was everything! My heart was so encouraged by the time I was done by the love and faithfulness of God. And He didn’t let me down that time either. The money for my tuition payment came just in time.
Repetition is the key to learning. To remembering. I’m getting better at remembering names. It takes a lot of effort and I may never be great at it, but as long as I keep focused on it, I’ll keep getting better. I hope.
And if we rehearse His faithfulness daily…several times a day….there’s no way we’ll be able to forget Him. Forget His power and His faithfulness.
How do we rehearse it daily? By staying in the Word. By singing His praises (and I know of this amazing new CD, I Stand Amazed, if you need some help with that 😉 ). By staying thankful all day long.
We get to choose what we remember. Let’s choose well. Choose Him.