Forget Not – a Command Not a Suggestion

Psalm 103:2 (GOD’S WORD Translation)
² Praise the Lord, my soul,
and never forget all the good he has done:
Psalm 103:2

We know that when the Lord commands something in His Word, He means business. The outgrowth of a command from God is always good news for the believer. It means a blessing awaits the one who obeys. It is worth taking a closer look at what God is trying to get to us through the specific command of Psalm 103:2.

 A well-known minister of the gospel gave an interesting perspective in a message about “never forgetting.” He referenced Psalm 103:2 (KJV) which states, “forget not all His benefits.”  He noted that the benefits are at the heart of God’s goodness toward man. He pointed out that we can look back and remember the times we experienced His benefits in our lives – through healings, financial breakthroughs, relationships restored, among other things. But there are also times in all of our lives when the healing did not come or the thing we were believing for either didn’t happen or did not happen as we had hoped for. This minister’s point was that we have a choice to remember one or the other, and it is to our benefit to always remember the victories.

We must understand that there is a struggle for our memories because the kingdom of darkness wants us to focus on the times things did not go as planned. It is the intent of the enemy to parade these times before our mind in an attempt to disconnect us from the goodness of God. When we engage in thinking about our “faith failures,” rehearsing them over and over again, those thoughts begin to block the memories of our victories. The primary reason why God commanded us to “never forget all the good he has done” is that it is only in remembering the good things God has done for us that we stay focused on His nature. When we focus on His nature, we are positioning ourselves for future faith victories.

There is another reason for the command to “forget not,” and it can be found in Psalm 119:111 (ESV). It says, “Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.” Testimonies are declarations of the Truth of God’s Word. They can come from the Bible or they can come from those who have experienced the truth through the manifestation of God’s Word in their lives. This minister noted that all testimonies can become a part of our heritage, not just the ones we have experienced personally.  If someone from our church experiences a healing, we can receive that as a part of our heritage. It can become a part of our own story even though it happened to someone else. In taking it as a part of our heritage we are adding layers to the foundation of our relationship with God. Every time we take someone one else’s testimony into our hearts our roots grow down deeper into the Truth of the goodness of God.

What is the danger if we “forget all the good he has done?” The answer is found in Psalm 78; 41, 42 (NKJV):

 “⁴¹ Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.  42 They did not remember His ^[a]power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,…” This Psalm is largely a history of Israel and God’s deliverance over the years. Time and time again He saved them; time and time again they forgot and the consequence of forgetting was they “limited the Holy One of Israel.”

 Nothing has changed today. When we forget what God has done for us in the past, we limit His ability, not because He is upset with us but because we can’t believe and receive from Him without being laser-focused on His unchanging goodness. The best way to keep that laser-focus on the right thing is to say often, “ Lord, I remember when…” Then rehearse that victory until it not only embraces your past, but it also becomes the backdrop for your future!

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