Remember God's goodness

Have you ever forgotten an important date? Maybe it was a friend's birthday
or your wedding anniversary. With our hectic schedules, sometimes we forget
the important things - including the past blessings of God.

We take for granted our relationships, our health, and the possessions that
God has entrusted to us. Almost as soon as we set foot on land, we forget
how God has guided us through the storm.

Throughout the book of Joshua, God supernaturally carried the Israelites
through one insurmountable task after the other. The Lord stopped the flow
of the Jordan River. He caused the walls of Jericho to crumble. He gave
victory to the Israelites again and again. Yet by the end of the book, the
Israelites already had forgotten God's goodness and generosity.

In Joshua 24, we see God speaking through Joshua, reminding the people of
how He had faithfully provided for them in the past. Joshua chose a special
place to remind the people of God's faithfulness: "Then Joshua assembled all
the tribes of Israel at Shechem" (Joshua 24:1). Shechem was near the same
location that 600 years earlier Abraham received God's promise of that land.
What better place to praise God's faithfulness and to pledge a response to
His blessings?

We all have our own personal Shechem - the places where God has met us in a
special way. These are the places where God has provided for us and has
fulfilled His promises. These are the places where God has answered our
prayers and has intervened on our behalf. Our Shechems are where God has
showed Himself faithful - even when we have been unfaithful.

But God has not given us these many blessings so that we may become
complacent in them. He has blessed us for a purpose, and we are called to
respond. God wants us to use our resources and circumstances to bring Him
glory and to testify to His goodness. He wants us to tell the story of how
He transformed our lives. He wants to see our willingness to share about His
love for us.

God doesn't want our half-hearted response. Joshua told the people, "But if
serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this
day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the
River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for
me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).

We should not just worship God half-heartedly, or serve Him out of feelings
of obligation. God does not want us to just go through the motions while our
hearts are focused on worldly things. God wants us to serve Him alone,
regardless of what others are doing or what people will think of us.

Have you been suffering from "spiritual amnesia"? Have you forgotten God's
past mercies? Have you allowed your present troubles to blot out all memory
of God's past faithfulness and intervention? Have you neglected to praise
and thank Him for His past provision and blessings?

Don't allow your forgetfulness to distract you from God's present work for
you. If you are holding back from sharing about Christ because of spiritual
complacency, then seek God's forgiveness. If you have forgotten how God has
given you past victories and are fearful of stepping out in faith, then
repent of that today. The Lord has been faithful in your life and He will
continue to be faithful. Thank Him today for all of the ways He has shown
Himself faithful to you and take time to tell the story of His loving
faithfulness to others.

Useful link: www.leadingtheway.org