QUICK TO FORGET


Ten years ago, I traveled with my mom, Robert, and Carrie in their RV to Washington DC for the 912 march. It was a fun and insightful trip. The event began with a mile hike up Pennsylvania Ave. to the Capitol. I thought it would be rowdy and raucous.  To my surprise it was not.  Everyone around me seemed to be in my shoes—just taking in the spectacle around them. No one was pushing, shoving or stumbling about. It was just a multitude of invigorated concerned citizens peacefully marching toward the epicenter, the Nation’s Capital, the physical structure representing the sum total of our Republic, to vocalize concern over the many issues our country was facing in that pivotal time in our nation’s history. Being on Capitol Hill with so many others was indeed a mountaintop experience that I hope will not become just a faded memory.

Moses might agree. After leading the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses and the people came to the desert in Sinai. There the people camped in front of the mountain while Moses went to meet with God and acted as a go-between between God and the people. After one of these encounters, Moses brought the people some instructions from God, what we call “the Ten Commandments.” However, before beginning, God reminded them of two important things:  Who He is and what He did for them. “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

I’ve always been surprised at how quickly the people of Israel forgot the LORD and the things He did for them. The Old Testament is riddled with the phrases “and the people did evil in the sight of the Lord,” and “the Israelites again forsook the Lord.” I don’t get it! How could the very people who witnessed the devastating plagues in Egypt, who walked on dry ground between two walls of water, and who followed a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day into the promised land forget and forsake the very One who made it happen?

Sadly, we’re no different in our generation. We’re so quick to forget what God has done for us and return to our complaints. We forget the peace instead of pain, the restored relationship, and the endless answered prayers. God is I AM. He is our deliverer. He is the same “yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Maybe the journey from bondage to freedom causes short-term memory loss. Somewhere between the excitement of the journey and the reality of the road before us, we forget where we’ve come from and forsake the One Who delivered us. This week, take some time to re-chart your course.

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