Bible Studies

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Can God Forget?

I decided to do a Bible study on this word forget.

In the past when I have heard sermons of God forgetting my sins, That always bothered me a little bit. I mean, can a perfect, Holy God be forgetful? It’s almost like an oxymoron to say God forgets. God is perfect, right? So how could He forget anything?

I forget all the time. It seems the older I get, the more I forget! Sometimes I even forget God. I forget His mercies and grace. I (conveniently) forget to read His word. When that happens I start to depend upon myself. That is just what the deceiver wants me to do. He wants me to forget all about God so he can destroy me.

When I forget my Saviour, the enemy sneaks in and tries to devour me. Life can be going along great! I’ll think, “oh I can skip my bible study today; God will understand, won’t He? After all, I’ve been faithful so long. He will forgive me if I skip it just today.” The devils starts jumping up and down in glee! Because - what happens? I skip one bible study, or one church service - it’s so easy to skip another one and another one and on and on it goes. That’s when I start to get into trouble. Can anybody relate?

We begin to have problems and insecurities. All of a sudden something happens and life throws you for a loop. Your faith is weak. If we don’t feed our faith every day, it becomes weak. It’s just like our physical bodies need nourishment, so do our spiritual selves. They must be nourished every day with prayer and God’s word. So when we don’t nourish ourselves, what do we do when life takes a turn for the worse? We cry out; “God how could this happen? Have you forgotten me?”

David knew what this felt like - in Psalm 13:1 he cried: How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? And again in Psalm 44:24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

Do you think God forgets us and lets these calamities come upon us? Or do we forget God? One thing David knew to do in his distresses; he knew to keep crying out to God, to get back in fellowship with Him, through His word and prayers. When we are in doubt, turmoil and anxiety in our everyday lives - we must seek the Lord. He is always our answer. Listen to the following Pslams:

Psalm 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

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

Psalm 119:83 For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes.

Psalm 119:93 I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.

Psalm 119:109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.

Psalm 119:141 I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.

Psalm 119:153 Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law.

Psalm 119:176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

Even though David was obviously going through much turmoil and affliction, he cried out to God over and over until he was delivered.

Deuteronomy 4:31 says this: (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

I don’t know about you’all but I have not lived most of my life for Jesus. Until about five years ago, I was out of God’s will. For 35 years I lived only for myself. But you know what? He never forgot me. I was His child and He never once forgot about me! When I look back over my life, I can now see God in many circumstances where He delivered me. I bet if you think about it, you can too.

When I dwell on the past, or see my children in their sins, I blame myself. I am ashamed for not bringing them up in church and teaching them God’s ways. You can be sure our sins will find us out. Sin always has consequences that we have to live with for the rest of this life.

But this is another way the devil loves to bring me down! If he can get me out of fellowship with God, he will put doubts in my mind. “How could God forget your sins?” or “you have done too much, you are too bad! God has surely not forgiven the likes of you!“ he’ll say. Or (this is his favorite one) “Who are you trying to kid? You don’t belong here in this church! You are not like these people, you will never measure up!”
I can easily become discouraged in my walk if I listen to those doubts he puts in my head.

We know God forgives but does He really forget? Look at what the following verses say about it:

Isaiah 54:4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

Isaiah 65:16 That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.

Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

Jeremiah 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

It doesn’t say God forgets but that He chooses to REMEMBER them no more! When He saves us, He forgives us. We need to learn how to accept His salvation as the free gift that it is and forgive ourselves!

So why do we constantly remember past sins and go over them again in our minds? I think it’s because we forget! We forget what God has done for us. We forget the cross. We forget about His tender mercies, His loving kindness. We forget to read our Bible. We forget to pray and praise Him. He doesn’t forget us - we forget Him.

Look at what Peter says in 2 Peter 2-9:
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 9 is the kicker:
But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

God never forgets us. Look at what Jesus said in Luke 12:6: Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

God knows that we will forget Him at times.

Psalm 78:39 says: For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.

He knows we are but mortal beings and are weak. That’s why He sent the Holy Spirit to remind us. The Holy Spirit will quicken us and bring to remembrance the mercies of God just at the right time. John 14:26 says this: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

When we get so far down on ourselves, we think ‘maybe I should just give up because I will never be able to do this.’ Then the Holy Spirit comes and reminds us of Jesus. We don’t really have to DO anything. Jesus did it all for us. All we have to do is accept Him, accept His grace and keep His commandments. He knows we will occasionally fail but He loves us anyway!

So, when you start wallowing in your shame of the past - you just need to do one thing:

Remember God.

Pray these verses to Him:

Psalm 111:4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

Isaiah 43:18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

Psalm 25:7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.

Psalm 79:8 O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.

Then you can say as the Apostle Paul said:

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Don’t forget God! Remember God and forget those things which are behind you!

Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

So you see, I don’t believe God forgets, He just doesn’t remember our old ways and we shouldn’t either.

But if you have never asked the Lord to forgive you of your sins you must remember this;

Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

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