Remember Your God!

After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the Lord for help, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. But they forgot the Lord their God;

1 Samuel 12:8–9a

God brought Israel up out of Egypt. The knew Moses and Aaron. They witnessed the 10 Plagues. They saw God turn the Nile to blood. They saw God part the Red Sea for the Israelites and then close it back on their enemies. Then God brought them through the desert and settled them in the Promised Land. They crossed the Jordan River on dry ground. They saw the walls of mighty Jericho fall. God did all of this for them, and still verse 9 says they forgot their God! How is that possible?! 

We learn something about people in these verses. Sadly, the ability to forget God, to grow tired of Him, to ignore Him... is an ability that all mankind shares. We are all only too capable of forgetting God.

Think about a husband who has an affair. Do you think he forgets that he’s married? No. He doesn't forget that he has a wife. But he does forget his wife in the sense that he isn’t thinking about her anymore. When he commits that great sin, he’s thinking about someone else, this object of his desire, instead of his wife.

That’s the sense in which Israel forgot their God. They didn’t forget that God existed, but they weren’t thinking about Him anymore. They had no time for God in their thoughts or their lives because they were too busy running after the gods and the things that they desired more. False idols and fleshly desires had pushed God out of their thinking and out of their lives.

What about you? Did you know that you can go to church every week and still forget God? You can if there is no room for Him in your thoughts or your life once you leave church each Sunday. Has God been pushed out of your thoughts and your life by someone or something that you desire more then you desire Him?

Have you forgotten your God? If so, take a look back at your history and remind yourself of all He has done for you. Remember how He called you to salvation. Remember how He freed you from sin. Remember how He loved you at your worst. Remember how He gave you His Word and His church. Remember how He has met your needs again and again and again. Remember your God!