I’ve become very good at forgetting. I can forget why I walked into a room. I can start a task, get distracted, and an hour later remember what I was originally going to do. A couple weeks ago, I forgot my oldest daughter’s wedding anniversary.

Those things aren’t good, but there’s a type of forgetting that’s far worse. It’s an intentional forgetting. Maybe a better term for it is ignoring. And I guess when carried to the extreme, it’s really called rebellion.

Right before the nation of Israel is going to enter the Promised Land, Moses reminds them of their history and gives them their final instructions from God. He’s reminding them of things and teaching them things they’ll need to remember once they cross the Jordan River to take possession of the land of Canaan.

In Deuteronomy 8, he tells them:

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.

Soon after speaking these words to Israel, Moses dies, and Joshua leads them into the Promised Land. And for a time, Israel remembers and obeys. For a time.

After the death of Joshua, there was no one to lead Israel and they fell into a period of several hundred years where they forgot God. They ignored Him. They rebelled against Him. This period in their history is recorded in the book of Judges.

After one period of peace, it says, “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years He gave them into the hands of the Midianites.” (Judges 6:1)

Israel eventually cries out to God for help and He rescues them by using Gideon and three hundred men to defeat an army of over 100,000. During Gideon’s lifetime, Israel once again enjoyed a period of peace for 40 years.

It doesn’t last though.

“No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals.” (Judges 8:33)

Do you ever wonder what in the world these people were thinking? Wasn’t it clear to them that things were better when they walked according to God’s ways? How could they so quickly forget what God had done for them?

Um, I do that. I forget. But again, that’s the kind word. I ignore, I rebel.

It’s easy to cry out to God in the desert, isn’t? It’s uncomfortable. We have needs. We want relief.

But when we enter the good land or when there are extended seasons of peace and provision, we tend to prostitute ourselves to our pleasures and distractions and other interests.

Like Israel, I forget. Do you?

So what are we to do? Is there any way out of the “cry out to God, experience His help, then forget Him,” cycle?

I think there is, but it requires a new priority and a new source of power.

If our priority is comfort or security or peace or pleasant circumstances, then once we have that, we will forget God. We won’t feel the urgency to seek Him. Why? Because we have from Him what we want.

We need a new priority. One that doesn’t change based on circumstances or feelings. Our priority needs to be a simple one. A very simple one. It simply needs to be to grow deeper in our friendship with God. Whether things are good or bad or somewhere in between, our goal doesn’t change. We want a deeper friendship with God. Period.

We also need a new source of power. Our own strength won’t cut it. We need God’s power. And that comes from the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 1, Paul writes:

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

The Israelites didn’t have the Holy Spirit living in them, but if you have placed your faith in Christ, you do. You have the full power of God living in you. And we most fully experience His power when we most fully surrender.

So how quickly do you forget God?

If your answer is “pretty quick,” then it’s a sign you need a new priority and a new source of power.