Today, I had a memory just pop into my conscious thoughts. Why do memories of long-past mistakes, failures, and sins pop up in our minds? The memory may be something as small as forgetting to shake someone’s hand to something that was very ungodly. I know many Christians struggle with memories. I’m not referring to problems rooted in medical conditions.
Some Christians fear that these sudden memories come from the enemy, and this may be true if the memory was triggered by one or more of our five senses. However, we need to remember that the enemy is not like God. He is not a mind reader.
If we are believers in Jesus Christ, our Lord, these unexpected memories are often from God for our good. God may be showing us something for us to rejoice in because God has forgiven and delivered us; we are no longer that person. Most of us have many “bad memories” that can be a cause for us to rejoice in Jesus, our Savior. How marvelous it is to discover that we are no longer that person!
Now, God may remind us of memories because we need to deal with them. Have we removed the moral weakness that was at the root of a “bad memory?” Do we need to be reconciled to someone? Is there a pattern in those memories that point to some moral weakness in our character?
“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”
― Edmund Burke
Because of God’s love, He will remind us of things that we need to deal with. The good news is that because God loves us, He shows us what can be conquered in us by Him! He is for us and not against us. Those that don’t know their buried issues are doomed to repeat them.
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