Does God Forget?

 

When young and unable to remember someone’s name or what brought me to a room, it was no big deal. However, after ‘too many birthdays’ being unable to remember things is distressing. This is another reason to trust the Lord. Obviously, He is able to REMEMBER everything. Yet He says, in Isaiah 43:25. “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” He FORGETS sin!

Years ago, I led a seminar on forgiveness. We tend to think it means “forgive and forget” but when it comes to God, that definition does not work. It doesn’t work well for us either because it is not easy, or the right way to think of what forgiveness means. The Bible word for remembering is: “to keep in mind for attention or consideration.” That makes forgiveness not about forgetting but a decision; when someone sins against us, we choose not to hold it against them. God does not forget; He simply does not give our confessed sin any “mindful attention or consideration.”

I read dozens of verses about God remembering and forgetting with this definition in mind and noted that God’s remembering and ‘forgetting’ is intentional and also followed by action. Here are just a few of many examples:

Genesis 8:1. “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.”

Genesis 9:15-16. “I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

Genesis 30:22. “Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.”

Numbers 10:9. “And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.”

Although there are many other passages that tell us to remember or not forget what God has done, Genesis 41:51 surprised me. It says that Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh because, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.”

Joseph is noted for choosing not to hold against his brothers their ill treatment of him, yet this verse gives credit to God for the ability to forgive in the sense that Joseph did — and as God does.

In Job 39 the Lord further describes His ability to do this. He says, “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love? For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground, forgetting that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them. She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear, because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding.”

Sometimes we feel as if God has forgotten us. He isn’t answering our prayers or doing anything we can see. The psalmists expressed that feeling and asked Him to remember them in various distresses. From what I’m reading, I’m reminded of my sister who struggled with memory loss and how she prayed to remember where she put her scissors or her glasses. She laughed that God always heard her plea and gave her what she needed.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Perhaps the losses of getting older, whether it is memory or physical abilities, or other things, are part of our spiritual growth toward total dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ for everything. In pride and sinful selfishness, I want to “do it myself” but God is there for me and God is glorified when I rely on Him instead of my own resources. That does not mean that I forget to ask His help, or to praise Him for His answers. He reassures me that even though I often forget Him or neglect to call upon Him, He does not forget me:

Psalm 9:11–12. “Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds! For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.”

Isaiah 49:15–16. “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands . . . .”

Hebrews 13:5. “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ ”

 

Gracious words from a gracious God . . .

Deuteronomy 16; Psalm 103; Isaiah 43; Revelation 13

Sometimes I read all the suggested Scriptures and the Lord gives me one thought for the day. Now and then, if my heart is quiet and not distracted, I hear Him speaking continually. This is one of those days. Space allows for just a few of what He is saying to remind me of His gracious faithfulness. After the past two days, He blesses me with positives!

In celebrating the Passover, the Israelites were told to eat no leavened bread to remind them how quickly they had been delivered, then seven days of unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, so “that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 16:3)

APPLY: It is a good idea that each day I remember when Jesus saved me from slavery to sin, a reminder to live accordingly!

There are other truths in my spiritual life that the Lord wants me to remember. Here are a few of them . . .

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1–5)

I am forgiven, healthy, redeemed, blessed with His continuous love and mercy, and given so many good things that most people think I’m 10 – 15 years younger than I am. What can I say to all that!

APPLY: Remember His multiplied blessings and be thankful, today and every day.

While I rejoice over my own salvation, I’m also burdened by concerns for those who don’t know the Lord and have shown no interest in Him. Isaiah’s words of rebuke are for those in that “I don’t care” attitude about God. He tells them of the Lord’s attitude toward them and what He will do to bring them to faith in Him. Right in the middle of those warnings, God says through the prophet:

“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins." (Isaiah 43:25)

APPLY: God disciplines those He loves and deals with our sin, not because we deserve His grace but because He is a merciful and saving God. I can put my unsaved family and friends in His hands. He knows how to turn their lives from disobedience to righteousness because He has great power to change hearts, to make them new. My prayers for these burdens need not be pleading and in despair but raised in confidence because the God that I love is a God of salvation.

According to Revelation, a time is coming when those remaining on the earth will be completely deceived by leaders who are “given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.” The first one will blaspheme God, His name, and those who dwell in heaven. This “beast” will be allowed to make war on God’s people and conquer them and be given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation. All who live on earth will worship it except those whose name has been “written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” (Revelation 13:5–8)

This is a scary scenario yet comes with a promise; the faith that God gives to His people is so powerful that all who believe in Jesus Christ will NOT give in to the coming deceptions. This faith might result in martyrdom yet it will not fail. Those who believe were written in the book of life before God created the world!

The next verses say:

If anyone has an ear, let him hear: If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. (Revelation 13:9–10)

As the world seems to be rolling toward a climax many Christians are wondering if Jesus will come soon. He could yet these thoughts come with every large crisis. Christians were expecting Jesus soon during the world wars and other pandemics. However, no one knows the day or the hour. All I know is that whenever it happens, the people of God will endure because the faith and endurance He gives are sufficient!

APPLY: Be confident. God isn’t done with this planet yet. Those who resist Him cannot win that battle. Eventually every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God. This confidence in Him is my daily joy.