I can be a forgetful person. Sometimes it’s minor stuff, like losing track of my car keys or my wallet. And I have been known not to return a phone call or pay a bill on time.
I wish it weren’t true, but sometimes I even forget God—and I bet I’m not alone. It doesn’t happen every day, but there are mornings when I wake up and go about my day, forgetting to acknowledge God and to remember all that He’s done and is doing for me and others. I forget that He’s the “great Shepherd” who wants to lead and guide me to a life of peace and joy (Hebrews 13:20).
Let’s face it, most of the time it’s not that God simply slips from our minds. We forget God because we’ve made other things (good or bad) more of a priority than walking with Him. Preoccupied with lesser things, there is little time, if any, spent thinking of His ways and plans.
Forgetting God is not merely an issue of spiritual amnesia. It can also be the result of idolatry, where we believe and act as if we need someone or something more than we need Him. None of us are beyond making the foolish exchange Paul spoke of—trading “the truth about God for a lie” and worshiping “the things God created instead of the Creator Himself” (Romans 1:25).
Worshiping the creature over the Creator is not the way we were designed to spend our days. If left unchecked, it will break our fellowship with the only true Source of life.
While making a speech in Athens, a city steeped in idol worship, Paul reminded his audience that it’s in the Creator God that “we live and move and exist” (Acts 17:28). Don’t forget, choosing lesser gods will keep us from the only true One.
More:
This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God” (Isaiah 44:6).
Next:
What lesser gods have you allowed to steal your time with God? What happens when you forget about Him?
bedwards1317 on June 8, 2009 at 4:52 am
Amen.
When we choose to worship lesser gods, like money, cars, or even lift up people that we are “impressed by” we become land-locked and even paralyzed. When we pour our lives into worshipping God through Jesus, and Him alone, we are truly free.
I heard a great quote:”Those who are enslaved to the compass, have the freedomof the seas”.
As long as we become slaves to Christ, He grants us the spiritual freedom found in His WORD.
dr.lightsey on June 8, 2009 at 7:45 am
I believe we choose to worship lesser gods because we know they require less of us and we don’t think of being accountable to them. We want the false freedom of doing what we want to satisfy ourselves.
May I daily seek to deny myself by taking up the cross and serving God. He is the only One Who truly satisfies.
peg on June 8, 2009 at 8:25 am
Yes…..I see what your are saying. It requires less effort (thinking) to watch tv or read a fiction book than it does to pray or read my bible.
Forgive me Father for putting so many non-important things before You. I pray that You would remind me when I do that.
mikan14 on June 8, 2009 at 11:49 am
Yes, all glory belongs to God, for without Him, we are nothing. Apart from Him, we can’t do anything. So we must truly focus unto Jesus, for by Him and for Him all things were created.
Thank You Lord for the great message. I shall never forget to remember =)
makks on June 10, 2009 at 6:07 pm
sometimes we forget God because of the idols
we’ve made out of the jobs he gave us,thinking
after all pay my tithe..
then comes our spouse,the kids, our friends, our
competitors, our parents,the government,the society,
the news e.t.c….until we loose those things.we may
never remember God again….
elisau on August 7, 2009 at 6:57 pm
It takes time and practice to develp spiritual disciplines. I strive to have an ongoing conversation with the Lord throughout my day. From the moment I wake up (before my feet even hit the floor) to the last name on my lips before I go to sleep at night. God reveals himself through His creation, through relationships, through life itself. Praise the Lord; He is good!