Dangerous Memory Loss and Selective Memories

There is a trap many believers fall into in our walk with God. It happens especially when we're waiting for God to show us what He has for us and when we are uncomfortable where we are. During these times we often remember the perks or benefits of a season without remembering the circumstance God saved us from. We see the Israelites fall into this trap while in the desert on their way to the land God promised them.

       They were in bondage in Egypt until God set them free, however, in their journey in the desert, they quickly forget what God had done for them. Numbers 11: 4-6 (GNB) says, "There were some foreigners traveling with the Israelites. They had a strong craving for meat, and even the Israelites themselves began to complain: 'If only we could have some meat! In Egypt we used to eat all the fish we wanted, and it cost us nothing. Remember the cucumbers, the watermelons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic we had? But now our strength is gone. There is nothing at all to eat - nothing but this manna day after day!'" These Israelites were so fixated on the things they used to have that they forgot all that came with it.
      As soon as I read these verses my response was "Woah!" Not like the happy sound of surprise, more like the way you'd yell when someone crosses the line or says something totally off base. I had to reread the line, "In Egypt we used to eat all the fish we wanted, and it cost us nothing." Um...No! I was seething along with God.
     What are you talking about nothing? You were slaves! Remember when you were slaves?! Exodus 1: 8-14 tells us, “Then, a new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. He said to his people, 'These Israelites are so numerous and strong that they are a threat to us. In case of war they might join our enemies in order to fight against us, and might escape from the country. We must find some way to keep them from becoming even more numerous.' So the Egyptians put slave-drivers over them to crush their spirits with hard labour. The Israelites built the cities of Pithom and Rameses to serve as supply centres for the king. But the more the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites, the more they increased in number and the further they spread through the land. The Egyptians came to fear the Israelites and made their lives miserable by forcing them into cruel slavery. They made them work on their building projects and in their fields, and they had no mercy on them.”
       That wasn't all the Israelites endured while in Egypt. That same king ordered the Israelites' sons to be killed when they were born: “Finally the king issued a command to all his people: 'Take every newborn Hebrew boy and throw him into the Nile, but let all the girls live'” (Exodus 1:22).
      There was nothing free about the fish the Israelites had in Egypt. The cost was slavery and their children. The price was their dignity and freedom. That was far from their memories in the desert, though. In the discomfort of their freedom, they could only think of what they had, not what they did not have in Egypt. We can often be the same.
      When God sets us free from the bondage of addiction or slavery, it often gets uncomfortable. There seems to be more responsibility and uncertainty. Suddenly it feels like we have less because we are weighing it all against what we had when we were slaves (but we forget the slavery bit). After separation, a formerly abused wife may remember the arms she could come home to (on a good day), the financial support, and the relationship she had, while forgetting the abuse that came along with it. A former drug dealer may remember the massive amount of money brought in weekly and the luxuries brought with it, but forget the dangerous lifestyle, the guilt, and the lives that were ruined because of it. Someone in a sexually impure relationship may remember the pleasure, love, and acceptance they felt, but forget that they left God behind and lost their integrity.
      It's easy to forget the cost of the things we had while living in sin or in another season. I believe this is because sin is all about seeing the tangible (wanting more things-money, clothes, etc.; knowing that others are attracted to you or find you sexually desirable; and hearing or watching people praise you). We often can't see all that comes with following God because much of the reward comes at a later time or is invisible to us (maturity, no longer having to live knowing you are guilty, having the hope of Heaven, and being backed by God). We need to choose to treasure the unseen more than we do the seen so that we can stop making incorrect comparisons. You have far more with God and in His will than you did without Him.
      Remember ALL that came with the things you find yourself missing from last season. When you do, I bet you will find yourself remembering that those things weren't worth the cost.