Memory, Part 3

In this week’s meditation I would like to continue with the subject of the memory. Remember that God has given you a wonderful capacity to remember. You actually remember far more than you realize. Therefore, you are capable of remembering more that you may want to admit. After all, being able to say, “I forgot,” does provide a convenient excuse at times. And, to be sure, we all do forget. But oftentimes forgetting is more a matter of will than a matter of weakness, as we shall further demonstrate. For this reason, God holds us responsible to remember Him, His works, His commandments, and His house. And He does not let us off the hook because we forgot. In fact, God punishes those who forget what He commands them to remember.

Deuteronomy 8:19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

Seeing that memory figures so importantly in our relationship with God, how then can we improve our memory? In his book, Dr. Richard A. Swenson makes this interesting comment: “The amount of effort we put into learning is not necessarily the most important thing. It turns out that meaning is as important to memory as intention.” You remember those things that mean the most to you. Do you have any trouble remembering the family and friends you love most? Or the experiences you most enjoyed? You can be assured that remembering my grandchildren is quite easy. Why? Because they mean so much to me! They are very much in my affections and thoughts. My wife and I speak often of them. Or turn it around. If someone forgets something that you expect them to remember, then how do you sometimes interpret their forgetfulness? Don’t you sometimes feel that you must not mean that much to them? Otherwise, they would have remembered. It appears we all understand the importance of meaning to memory.

Now this brings us to the heart of the matter. Perhaps you forget God, His works, His commandments, or His house because they do not mean to you what they should. Perhaps they are too far down on your list of priorities. Can you remember what you read in a novel, but not what you read in your Bible? Can you remember the content of a stirring political speech, but not the content of a stirring sermon? Do you remember when your favourite television show is on, but yet you sometimes forget when it’s communion Sunday? You will remember those things and events that your heart is most set upon because of how much they mean to you.

You do not have any trouble remembering things that brought you great pleasure, do you? Things that bring you great pleasure mean a lot to you. If you delight in something, the odds are greater that you will remember it. Now connect this thought with this verse:

Psalms 119:16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

The Psalmist resolves that he will not forget God’s word. For him, memory was a matter of the will: “I will not forget.” But connected with his resolve was His delight in God’s word. Look at the definition of that word delight.

Delight – To be highly pleased, take great pleasure, rejoice in or to do (anything).

The more you take pleasure in learning and obeying God’s word, the more you are going to remember it. For things that highly please you are more meaningful to you.

In connection with this let us recall the words of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Whatever we love with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength will certainly mean a great deal to us. And the chances are great we will not forget it. So if we would improve our memory with respect to our relationship with God, we need to grow in our love for God. Give Him the first place in your heart, your affections, your thoughts, and your desires. Take some time to consider just how important Almighty God is to you. It is He that made everything and that made you. Without Him you would not be. He it is that preserves you. Otherwise, you would cease to be. It is He that loved you and gave His only begotten Son to save your soul by suffering what you deserved because of your sin and rebellion. Otherwise, you would have been ruined forever. No one could love you as much or do as much for you as your God. Doesn’t He deserve to be loved first and best and to be remembered above all? Consider this verse:

Romans 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

All things originate, continue, and end with God. How foolish it is then, that things should crowd God out of our memory. Rather, they should serve to keep Him ever in our memory.

Taking time to give God the kind of consideration I am recommending will serve to make you love Him more. And the more you love Him, the more inclined you will be to remember Him, because He will mean so much to you. The consideration of God will spur you to remember His commandments to do them.

Deuteronomy 4:39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
40 Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.

I mentioned above that forgetting is often more a matter of will than of weakness. If you don’t want to forget something, you have to want to remember it. This verse speaks plainly to this point:

Isaiah 26:8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.

When we speak of desire we are talking about a strong wish, longing, craving for something. This is something we very much want. Enter the will. The will is defined as desire, wish, longing. Do you desire to remember God? If you really want to remember Him, His works, and His commandments, then you will think of ways to do it. It is amazing what people can accomplish when they want to.

God willing, I shall have more to say about memory. For now I close with this advice addressed to your will:

Psalms 31:23 O love the LORD, all ye his saints.

If you truly love Him, you will not forget Him.