I remember being young and hearing having my dad ask me, "Why didn't you (you fill in the blank) like I asked you to?" I would always respond with the same tired reply, "I forgot!". To which my dad would reply, "You did not forget, you chose not to remember!" In truth, my dad was right and unfortunately this issue has not gone away in my life.
I choose not to remember the times God has provided for me and instead choose to worry.
I choose not to remember the gospel and instead think I must earn God's love.
I choose not to remember my identity must be found in being a child of God and instead choose to find significance in what people think of me.
I choose not to remember that God is in control and instead I choose to try and control my life myself.
The command to REMEMBER is found all over the Scriptures. In Exodus 13:3 right after leading God's people out of slavery in Egypt, Moses exhorts them saying, "Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place." The Jewish people celebrate Passover to REMEMBER God's grace to them in Egypt. Jesus commanded we take communion to REMEMBER His sacrifice in our place for our sin.
Yet, we are prone to forget. In fact, I believe one of the greatest ploys of the Evil One is to encourage us to forget: to draw our attention away from the goodness of our God and fix our eyes on our present circumstances. This means it is of the utmost importance that we make a discipline of remembering. Remembering was one of the reasons God had people construct alters in the Old Testament. They were to serve as a sign and help people remember their God.
So how are you fighting to REMEMBER? One of the things that helps me is to journal. I right down my thoughts, prayers, worries, concerns, and trials so I can look back over them at a later time. This helps me remember that God has always provided and protected in the past so I have no reason to worry. It's also important that we talk with God and with each other about who God is and what He has done and is doing in our lives. We must always fight to remember and write down the evidences of God grace in our lives because:
"When we forget the grace of God, we forfeit the peace of God."