Forgotten

Do you ever find yourself forgetting God? The past few weeks, i've gone through periods where i've unintentionally forgotten about God through my day, and it's occurred to me that that is a potential concern. My adopted dad from church defined it as "ungodliness, the act of carrying on with our lives on a day to day basis without any thought of God. This is the sin of putting God on the Sunday shelf and not bothering to be concerned with Him at any other time".

I've noticed three instances these past few weeks where I have forgotten God throughout my day, and it's not even intentional! For example, since i've started my summer job, I've been wanting to work hard, to do my best as an employee, and I found myself getting caught up in my work as I try remembering my animal facts when presenting for a show, or making sure I don't get bit as I take an animal out from their enclosure; though these are little things, I can think of days where I find myself praying before I head into work, and walking out realizing that God has been absent the following 8-9 hours.

Sometimes, it may be the culture or environment that causes one to forget God. My family went on a spontaneous shopping trip yesterday, we went to the Toronto Premium Outlets and Yorkdale mall. I realized it was quite possibly the very first time i've ever been to Yorkdale, but stepping into there was so overwhelming, to be constantly surrounded by the consumeristic culture, having everything be about self, shopping for oneself, eating to satisfy oneself, the tall and glamorous advertisements to draw oneself in. To be quite honest, I was quite uncomfortable in there, to see where our society is going, i've never seen it at such a scale. I thank the LORD that He has specifically dulled the materialistic mentality for me. I no longer have the desire for the next best thing, or the newest trend, but I can see how many people can be overwhelmed and drawn towards new technology, new clothes, even the new cars they were selling in the mall, filling one's mind with oneself rather than with God.

Lastly, though this may come with good intentions, but when the degree and the direction is wrong, it can become an issue. This is when someone or something fills your mind, it can even be a concern for someone; i've had a few friends share their burdens with me and I thank the LORD that He has given me a heart to listen, care and pray for these people, but sometimes I can find that it consumes my thoughts and I end up thinking about their situation or their well-being more than thinking about God.

So it got me thinking, how do you combat this?

I'll share four practical things one can do that may help them refocus their mind on God from day to day.

Confess and Repent - when I realize how my thoughts have been consumed by something that is unholy, or something good but to a wrong degree, it is important to turn to God, confess that you have forgotten him, and ask for forgiveness and that he would invade our hearts so that we would keep our eyes and our thoughts on Him.

Memorize Scripture - i've recently been reminded of Psalm 121. I love the psalm, and although I have memorized it previously, i've gone to review and memorize it again, part by part, verse by verse. I've realized that the process of memorizing scripture gives oneself something to chew and meditate on, something to think about, especially when you're working and you can't exactly open up your bible.

Ask Yourself "Where is God in this Moment?" - i've been trying to remember God more in my day to day life and activities; we went hiking today as a family and it was easy to just tune out and have a blank mind, or to fill my mind with other thoughts when walking through the woods, but I asked myself and I prayed "God, would you reveal yourself to me in this moment, where are you in this situation". Even if you may not come to an answer, it may help with redirecting your eyes to seeking God in the small, potentially mundane activities of your life; and who knows, the LORD might just decide to meet you there.

Unplug Yourself - this is something new I want to try this week, with the phone going off, or the red notifications on Facebook, twitter, emails, I want to try to put away my phone more throughout my day. I challenged myself to not touch or check my phone during the hike today, and I can say that there were countless times I reached into my pocket to look at it, but thankfully I was able to stop myself before I looked. It's harder than it seems when you are so constantly plugged in! Try to use the time you would spend checking Facebook for the 56th time, for prayer or scripture meditation!

In our busy busy world, it's fairly easy to keep God on the sunday morning shelf, or to compartmentalize him into just your daily devotional time, but if He truly is the LORD that reigns over your life, He is to be a part of every public and every intimate aspect of it. Whether if you are intentionally restricting access, or just accidentally forgetting about Him, may He reveal to you what needs to be changed, and may you continually let Him transform your heart and your mind each and every day.

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