One of the phrases we often hear around September 11 is “Never forget.” Never forget that our nation is vulnerable. Never forget the lives lost in tragedy. Never forget the heroes who gave their lives trying to save others. We say, “Never forget,” because we know how easily people forget.
And the same is true of our spiritual lives.
In Ezekiel 16:43, God confronts his people over their unfaithfulness. At the heart of their rebellion was a failure to remember what God had done for them. They had forgotten their history with God, his faithfulness to them, and the grace he had shown them.
They had a case of spiritual amnesia.
And this wasn’t the first time.
In Exodus, God miraculously parts the Red Sea to deliver his people from slavery in Egypt. Yet, before long, they are questioning whether he can provide food in the wilderness.
In Joshua 6, God brings down the walls of Jericho and gives his people a remarkable victory. But by the very next chapter, they are disobeying him.
Again and again, God’s people forget. They experience his faithfulness, but they struggle to trust him when the next challenge comes.
If we’re honest, we can do the same thing.
Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “God, I know you’ve done so much for me in the past. But what have you done for me lately?”
We can become so consumed by today’s difficulties that we lose sight of yesterday’s faithfulness. We focus on what God hasn’t done, what he hasn’t provided, or what he hasn’t changed, while overlooking the countless ways he has already shown us his goodness.
That’s why remembering matters.
Remembering God’s faithfulness isn’t simply an exercise in nostalgia. It’s a way of strengthening our faith in the present. The God who sustained us yesterday has not changed today. The God who carried us through past trials is still worthy of our trust in the trials we face now.
And our forgetfulness is not a small thing. In Ezekiel 16, we see that Israel’s failure to remember grieved God’s heart. Their spiritual amnesia was part of a deeper unfaithfulness toward the One who had loved them.
So let’s cultivate the habit of remembering.
Remember answered prayers. Remember the people God has used to encourage you. Remember the seasons when he provided what you needed, sustained you through suffering, or brought you back when you had wandered.
And above all, remember the gospel: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
When today’s circumstances make God’s goodness difficult to see, look back at what he has done. Let his past faithfulness strengthen your present faith.
We remember because we forget. And we remember what God has done so that we can trust him with what lies ahead.
