Lamentations 3:21-24 “This I call to mind and therefore I have hope. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.”
I believe a prevailing mark of today’s culture can be traced to a lack of faithfulness. It extends far beyond politicians who fail to keep their promises and spouses who renege on their marriage vows. Almost every sphere of life has been affected by faithlessness. Not a good climate to be living in, especially when we are warned from scripture that faithfulness on the part of the saints will be necessary to survive when God’s wrath comes upon the earth (Revelation 13:10).
So how do we remain faithful when our present injustices, sorrows and disappointments threaten our concept of God’s faithfulness to us? When we find ourselves asking the Lord questions like why did you let this happen? Where is your love now? Don’t you hear me? Perhaps even Why have you forsaken me?….how do we keep those thoughts from becoming excuses for our own disloyalty?
Jeremiah’s predicament in the third chapter of Lamentations may shed some light. At first, his thoughts are consumed with his affliction. He feels God has “shut him out.” He’s forgotten “what prosperity is.” All he had “hoped from the Lord” is gone.” He’s bitter and depressed. But then, he intentionally shifts his focus and begins to remember the faithful deeds of the Lord. Jeremiah’s circumstances didn’t change. But his perspective did. He remembered God’s character—his love, mercy, faithfulness—and it lifted him out of his despair.
Remembering God’s faithfulness stimulates our own. No wonder we are exhorted throughout Scripture not to forget what he has done. Forgetting feeds unfaithfulness. It makes me think of when my grandma got Alzheimer’s. Early signs of confusion and simple forgetfulness grew into that vacant stare and inability to recognize anything once familiar. In the end, she was suspicious of everyone, her actions at times bizarre.
When we forget who God is and what he’s done, our spirituality is in danger of self-induced Alzheimer’s. It will make us untrusting, suspicious, and eventually unable to even recognize the Lord. Are you feeling down today? Let me encourage you to intentionally recall the goodness of the Lord….
We can’t afford to get spiritual Alzheimer’s.