Sometimes, we forget what we wish we could remember. And sometimes we remember what we wish we could forget.
Have you ever tossed restlessly at night, replaying events and words that just won’t go away? How often I’ve prayed, “Lord, remove this from my thoughts. Take this out of my mind.” Over and over on an endless loop, I see mistakes I’ve made and hear words I can’t take back, and my memory becomes a weapon destroying my peace.
Sometimes, it’s not the memories themselves that are the problem. It’s the lies we tell ourselves about the memories. We tell ourselves we’re defined by what happened, and we believe the untruth that the words we said will never be forgiven. We live held hostage by the things that once were, and we refuse the grace that offers to redeem them.
We remember what we need to forget, and we forget what we need to remember.
We need to remember there’s nothing too wrong to be made right again. There’s nothing unforgivable and nothing unredeemable. There’s nowhere too far gone, and there’s no one too out of reach.
We need to remember what Satan wants us to forget, and we need to forget what Satan wants us to remember.
Satan wants us to remember every unkind word we’ve heard and every unkind word we’ve uttered. He wants us to remember the heartaches that tried to destroy us. The people who rejected us. The decisions that haunt us. The sins that weigh us down. The unfulfilled promises. The mocking. The abuse. The lies. The past.
Satan wants us to forget we are more than conquerors in Christ. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are forgiven. We are new creations. We are made in God’s image. We are alive in Christ. We are filled with the Holy Spirit.
Some days I need to make a “Things to Remember” list instead of a “Things to Do” one. More would get done (and get done well) if I remembered what I should and operated from a place of truth.
What would happen in our lives if we took stock of our thoughts and purposely realigned them with truth? What difference would there be if we refused to remember only the bad and chose to remember the truth? How would our lives be impacted if forgetting and remembering were actions we chose deliberately?
2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Here’s the thing about thoughts. They will come to you uninvited and unwelcome. They will come to you without warning and when you’re vulnerable. BUT. You are not at their mercy. You do not have to think a thought just because it comes to you – you can take it captive. That thought plaguing you can become your prisoner as you hold it against the truth of God’s word. When you find it lying, reject it. When you find it lacking, release it. You and I have the power to bring our thoughts under obedience to Christ.
If we will remember to do it.
What is it today you need to remember? And just as importantly, what do you need to forget?
Write it down. Speak it out loud. Confess it. And watch Christ redeem it.
Leave a Reply