The power of memory

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. (John 2:13–22)

A few weeks ago I told someone that if they had any unsolvable problems to call to Jesus; He would always be there for her. Later, I told a prayer warrior what I’d said but doubted that other person would remember. She encouraged me with, “God will bring it to her mind when she needs to hear it again.”

Memory is a problem for me. I have enough ADHD that if something isn’t written down, I usually forget it. One college professor told me lack of a good memory skill was my biggest flaw. Yet the praying friend has it right; if I really need to remember, God brings it to mind, at least He has. However, the older I get, the more I need it written down.

God isn’t stumped by my inabilities. In this case, He put me in the habit of daily Bible reading long before He redeemed me. I didn’t understand His Word then, but the habit was important. Now, I daily refresh my memory and have done so for more than fifty years. The fight against forgetting has not changed and may increase with age, but the Lord is faithful. He will help me remember what He says and use it to pick me up when I falter, just as He has always done.

I’ve sometimes worried about memory loss. My father had dementia. My mother had Alzheimer’s, yet they were happy and contented as their memories faded. My mother once said, “I’ve been through a lot. Worse things could happen to me.” I can say the same thing — and trust the Lord to remind me of that decision.

Lord, I’ve been purging my home and my computer and laugh at some of the stuff I’ve saved, never used, and wondered why I saved it. I also know that none of it will enter eternity with me. Such folly, yet there are some good things, and I’m so thankful that You have allowed and helped me remember many blessings of Your goodness to me. Thank You dear Lord.