Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

Bless Yahweh, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits:

Psalm 103:2

Lack of sleep, medications, under active thyroid, alcohol, stress and anxiety, and depression are the seven most common reasons that people suffer from a lack of memory. Another major reason is that we are present people. We live in the present, we look to the future to be our new present, and the past is simply the no longer present. Since the past is NO LONGER present, we disregard it more often than we should. It has been observed that those who do not learn lessons from the past are doomed to repeat them. There is value in knowing what we did last time. If you do the same thing again and again but expect a different result, you might be crazy. We have to vary our actions if we want to vary our results. How can we know what to do next time if we forget what we did last time? Or the famous song which said ‘what have you done for me lately’ meaning of course that past accomplishments were not going to be a factor. Our forgetting often marks the pathways of our lives.

Forgetting anniversaries, birthdays, and celebrations have led to the ending of relationships and scars in childhood that persist into adult lives. They are game changers for some people and red flags for others. When we constantly forget things, we put the burden of memory on our partners. It can also lead to the partner feeling un-seen. Memory is the repository of our relationship. The common pool we have of shared experiences. When only one of you holds that, it can be a cold and lonely pool. If you take memory issues into the workplace, a different kind of disaster can rise. Loss of profit, loss of productivity, unhappy customers, unhappy coworkers, and unhappy employers/employees. Much like marital aids, hundreds of memory aid products exist to make our lives easier to navigate with a poor memory, but they are artificial at best. They can get you through, but they don’t hold a candle to the real thing.

You would think that something (or someone) as important and world-changing as the Kingdom of Adonai or even Adonai Himself would be hard to forget. But we are stuck in 5-sense bodies. When something doesn’t directly impact our sight, taste, hearing, touch, or smelling, we have a tendency to place it in a subordinate position in our lives. What we perceive we see as ‘real’ and what we do not see as ‘not my problem’. But we know in our modern world how ridiculous that is. It DOES matter what is happening on the other side of the world. Sure, it isn’t going to interfere with my making toast in the morning, but it IS going to influence my bank account. Prices rise and fall on a global scale with each commerce system affecting all the others to one degree or another. Since everything on Earth is a type and shadow of the spiritual world, why do we think things would work differently there? Why do we ASSUME that it doesn’t matter as much? Oh, what an ignorant attitude we have let ourselves pick up and pass on.

“Now faith is the realization of what is hoped for, the proof of things not seen. For by this the people of old were approved. By faith we understand the worlds were created by the word of God, in order that what is seen did not come into existence from what is visible” (Hebrews 11:1-3). The unseen by fallen mortal senses is that which makes up our existence. We have to take it on TRUST based on the character of Adonai and how much we believe Him (Hebrews 11:6). This is how Abraham approached Adonai. He believed Adonai’s words. Period. It wasn’t easy though. Adonai even changed his name so that every time he communicated with people it would be reinforced – so that Abraham would REMEMBER the promise (Genesis 17:15). Remembrance is NOT to be disdained. It is a POWERFUL force to control our souls (minds, hearts, and personalities). We do NOT have to be LESS THAN. We can REMEMBER what Adonai has done so that we can walk in the MORE THAN ENOUGH that IS Jesus (John 15:5).

We need to develop a regimen. A regimen is a regular course of action or strenuous training in order to improve and maintain a given thing. Health, work, work-life balance, a relationship, housekeeping, finances, you name it. Our regimen needs to be one of memory. Try getting up every day, looking in the mirror during your morning routine, and speaking out ONE thing that Adonai has done for you. If you can’t think of anything yourself, ask Ruach HaKodesh to bring something to mind. One of His ministries to us is bringing the Word to mind (John 14:26). He can remind us of ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that Jesus has done for us that we were aware of when it happened. He is a TREMENDOUS source of memory for us.

If we forget the benefits that we have in Jesus, we are more likely to end up in a place where we can be tempted to fall away or to add something ungodly to our lives. The ten spies FORGOT the supernatural moves of Adonai in Egypt. They forgot how He had provided for them in the desert. They had forgotten the natural leading and the supernatural events that gave them and their livestock everything they needed. They FORGOT it and ONLY looked at themselves. They had NO TRUST because they FORGOT. The Psalmist pleads with himself NOT to forget. The Psalmist starts a list of things to remember. Item by item, category by category, in order to NEVER forget all the MANY things that Adonai had done for them. We need the same attitude.

Start a notebook and write down what Adonai has done for you. Listen to Ruach HaKodesh about what Jesus had done for you. Specific and generic. things we all share in and things that were just for you and your family. EVERY SINGLE GOOD THING comes from Adonai (James 1:17). NOTHING good happens that doesn’t come from Adonai. Other things can masquerade as good, but they all come with pain and chains. Only truly GOOD things are from ADONAI. And there are so VERY many. Make a list. Check it thrice. Start reading from it every day. Make a regimen of remembrance. Make it a priority. Every day speak out what Adonai has done. It is VITAL in maintaining a heart full of gratitude.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Mark 10:18

“So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Only Adonai is good. Everyone else is not. It’s true (Psalm 14:3). None of us make it in perfection (Romans 3:23). We all miss it and if we think we don’t we’re kidding ourselves (1 John 1:8). We are new in Jesus, so we are not SINNERS. But we ALL choose to NOT trust Jesus in some way, word, thought, or action at some point. We can go a long time not sinning, but sooner or later we slip up. The BEST thing about it is that we can repent in honest desire to not sin again and be corrected (1 John 1:9). But ANOTHER great thing is that things from the ONLY ONE who is good are ALSO good. He CANNOT give bad things. He CANNOT give things that hurt. He CANNOT give things that bring us bondage. Not because He is incapable from a power standpoint, but because He has chosen His character and His character is GOOD. NOTHING bad is from Him. ALL good things are from Him. You cannot get through a single day without running smack dab into good things. Views, air, sustenance, rest, communication, relationship moments, kindness, goodness, smells, it goes on and on and on and on. He is SO GOOD to us, we really need to make sure we’re thanking Him for it. Why? He deserves it! We grow up learning to thank people who gift us good things. He shouldn’t be treated any differently. He gives us SO MUCH because He loves us SO MUCH. What a GOOD God!

Your Daily Confession of Elohim’s Goodness:

I taste and see that Yahweh is good; I am blessed because I take refuge in Him.

Psalm 34:8