Sometimes we forget.
We develop an amnesia of the spirit - who God has been in our lives; what he has said, what he has done. And when we forget, we make poor decisions - foolish choices. We take paths that lead us to soul ache.
Amnesia is the loss of memory, the forgetting of facts, information, and experiences. One symptom of amnesia is memory loss, but it can also make it difficult to learn new information. There are many things that can cause the damage that causes amnesia such as stroke, disease, and the one often portrayed in movies - blunt force head injury. But amnesia can also be caused by shock or trauma. This is called "dissociative amnesia" and can cause a loss of self identity. You forget who you are.
Blows to the head. Shock and trauma. Life can come at us like this.
Maybe you've felt the blow of the loss of a loved one, a job, or a relationship. Maybe you've experienced the criticisms and judgments of a church. What about disappointment? Not just one disappointment, but person after person, broken dream after broken dream, crushed hope after crushed hope. Doesn't it just come at you like a swinging baseball bat - especially the time just before you give up?
Life and people can deal us blows and bring us trauma.
But God's plan for our lives is bigger than man's screw-ups. Circumstances do not dictate God. He is above circumstance and situation. In the midst of our amnesia, by our hospital bed where we lie in our pain, God stands and whispers, "I have plans for you, to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. All these things are working together for your good."
And he whispers this again and again; over and over he whispers.
In the movies we see amnesia being treated by bringing the patient to familiar places or replaying sounds from their past, anything to possibly invoke buried memories. I don't know if there is any credibility to such treatments, but I do know what has helped me when I've been experiencing amnesia of the heart.
I keep a book. In that book I keep dreams and prophecies and words of encouragement that have been given to me. And I visit that book. Some of the things in this book have come to pass, and some have yet to pass. Some are cards of encouragement and timely words given in the darkest of times. But when I look back and remember what God has done, my memory starts to return, my heart begins to sore, and my spirit is strengthened.
When I feel that God is done or has abandoned me, I look back on the miraculous ways he has told me that he would never abandon me. When anxiety for those I love weighs down on me I remember how he has rescued those I love and the miracles he has done in the lives of those around me. When I see corruption and addiction, I remember the faithful ones he has freed. So many good things to remember.
As I'm writing this blog, I find myself battling that amnesia. It's easy to forget what God has done. But one thing I know, even now, is that our lives display the faithfulness of God. And if we'll just look back and remember what he has promised and what he has done, the goodness of God will envelop our failing minds and return strength and health to them.
My friends, keep your eyes on him - he is the one who started your faith and he is the one who will finish it.
We develop an amnesia of the spirit - who God has been in our lives; what he has said, what he has done. And when we forget, we make poor decisions - foolish choices. We take paths that lead us to soul ache.
Amnesia is the loss of memory, the forgetting of facts, information, and experiences. One symptom of amnesia is memory loss, but it can also make it difficult to learn new information. There are many things that can cause the damage that causes amnesia such as stroke, disease, and the one often portrayed in movies - blunt force head injury. But amnesia can also be caused by shock or trauma. This is called "dissociative amnesia" and can cause a loss of self identity. You forget who you are.
Blows to the head. Shock and trauma. Life can come at us like this.
Maybe you've felt the blow of the loss of a loved one, a job, or a relationship. Maybe you've experienced the criticisms and judgments of a church. What about disappointment? Not just one disappointment, but person after person, broken dream after broken dream, crushed hope after crushed hope. Doesn't it just come at you like a swinging baseball bat - especially the time just before you give up?
Life and people can deal us blows and bring us trauma.
But God's plan for our lives is bigger than man's screw-ups. Circumstances do not dictate God. He is above circumstance and situation. In the midst of our amnesia, by our hospital bed where we lie in our pain, God stands and whispers, "I have plans for you, to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. All these things are working together for your good."
And he whispers this again and again; over and over he whispers.
In the movies we see amnesia being treated by bringing the patient to familiar places or replaying sounds from their past, anything to possibly invoke buried memories. I don't know if there is any credibility to such treatments, but I do know what has helped me when I've been experiencing amnesia of the heart.
I keep a book. In that book I keep dreams and prophecies and words of encouragement that have been given to me. And I visit that book. Some of the things in this book have come to pass, and some have yet to pass. Some are cards of encouragement and timely words given in the darkest of times. But when I look back and remember what God has done, my memory starts to return, my heart begins to sore, and my spirit is strengthened.
When I feel that God is done or has abandoned me, I look back on the miraculous ways he has told me that he would never abandon me. When anxiety for those I love weighs down on me I remember how he has rescued those I love and the miracles he has done in the lives of those around me. When I see corruption and addiction, I remember the faithful ones he has freed. So many good things to remember.
As I'm writing this blog, I find myself battling that amnesia. It's easy to forget what God has done. But one thing I know, even now, is that our lives display the faithfulness of God. And if we'll just look back and remember what he has promised and what he has done, the goodness of God will envelop our failing minds and return strength and health to them.
My friends, keep your eyes on him - he is the one who started your faith and he is the one who will finish it.
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