A few years ago I went back to the house where I lived as a small child. I was in the area for a family reunion and wanted to show my wife the house that I grew up in. It was a mansion in my mind. I remembered it to be so big. Much to my surprise it was not as big as I remembered it to be. The house was the same size. What was the difference? I had grown up. However, my memories had not. I was still seeing that house in my mind from a 4 year-old’s perspective.
Memories must be managed.
If we always let our mind run wild and live in the past we will miss the future that God has prepared for our lives.
One of the reasons the Children of Israel missed out on The Promised Land is because they did not manage their memories. Shortly after being delivered from Egypt and crossing the the Red Sea they said this:
The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” (Exodus 16:3)
They remembred Egypt incorrectly. They remembered the food that they ate but conveniently forgot one very important detail about Egypt: They were slaves!
It is so easy for us to do this with people; especially those we are closest to. We build mansions in our mind of the past mistakes of others instead of choosing grattitude.
Paul said to the people of the Philippian Church, “Every time I THINK of you, I give thanks to my God.” (Philippians 1:3)
There were a lot of things he could have focused on. His assignment at Philipi was a very difficult one with a lot of pain. However he refused to focus on the memories of the pain and rather chose to be grateful for the people in his life.
He chose to remember the best and give God the rest.
Who do you need to say thank you to today?
What painful memories do you need to give to God today?
