The Forgetfulness of God

A great many of us start out each year with the plan to read through the entire Bible. I have been reading my Prayer Devotional Bible again this year. It is not exactly set up with a “read the Bible in a year” reading plan, but I have done it as such several times. There is a devotion for every day of the week, with a general historically based one for the weekends. Obviously, all the devotions are geared toward inspiring your prayer life.

This is a Bible that does not have a mark in it, which is unusual for me, I mark up my Bibles, with notes, and references, etc., but not this one. Perhaps that is why when I read it, because there is nothing to distract me on any page, certain words and passages just pop off the page at me. I keep my notes and thoughts written in a little notebook on the side.

Every day has brought a revelation above and beyond the days devotions. For example: when I was reading in the book of 1^st Samuel, I did not get past the first chapter when I came across the phrase in 1^st Samuel 1:19  “and the Lord remembered her”, in reference to Hannah’s deep desire to have a child.

My quirky brain immediately thought, “What? Did He forget her?” 

Now I have to admit, that when I thought that I chuckled to myself, because I know from reading the rest of the book that God doesn't forget anyone, He may forget our sins, but not us.

Don’t you feel sometimes that God has forgotten you though? I have been in Hannah’s position, wanting a child, and not being able to conceive, and I remember those years when it seemed that every other couple we knew were having children……and we were not. Yes, in all honestly, I felt forgotten. The ceiling had become lead and I felt my prayers were not getting through, and I knew that somehow I had been misplaced and possibly forgotten in God’s grand design. So when I read this I did chuckle, because like Hannah, God remembered me too.

He has remembered me so many times since then, I am certain I can’t remember all of them, and the list of the times He has would be endless.

So as I continued on in the story of Hannah, I was reminded of God’s faithfulness, of His incredible memory, and the blessed fact that He is also able to forget the very worst of us and our lives. I am thankful for a Savior who stood in the gap for me so that when God sees me, He has forgotten my sins and sees only Jesus.

“For I will be merciful to their iniquities,
And I will remember their sins no more.”  Hebrews 8:12