Zachar

“…But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” (Philippians 3:13 (NIV).

At the end of a trip, relationship, interaction, etc., often all we have are memories.  Of course, the memory of the person or situation can vary based on circumstances – real or perceived.  The memory can even vary between two people that experienced the same situation due to the “lens” by which each saw the experience and then the subsequent internal processing of  each person.

Scripture is rich regarding the importance of remembering God’s deeds and faithfulness.    We know from 2 Timothy 3:16 that, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”  Therefore, remembering is also important for perspective and learning.  This is the “teaching” component from 2 Timothy.   

There is also a time to forget the past and a selection of that Scripture is also featured above.   Isaiah 43:18-19 teaches, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.   See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Zachar is the Hebrew verb for “to remember.”   The Bible teaches that it is important for us to remember the goodness of God in our own past as we navigate in our current adversity.    The depth of our current valley of adversity is vastly increased if the lens by which we remember our past adversity is one of bitterness or selectively choosing to focus on the past adversity itself rather than the goodness of God that helped us through the adversity.

But when should we remember the past and when should we forget it?  As for me, I try to forget my many failures of the past (as I pray for guidance and wisdom in the present and future). 

I was recently talking to a dear friend, a Proverbs 31 woman, about a trip that we had several years ago.   Up to that time, my memory of the trip was joyful.   My friend reminded me of a failure of mine on the trip, and my memory shifted to a familiar place – self-disappointment. 

As for me, I appreciate learning of my failure on my past trip as it will certainly help me improve and grow as a person.   Going forward, my lens of the trip will eventually return to joy as I lean into Philippians 3:13 and chose to forget my past failures and look ahead with joyful anticipation toward what is ahead – a Proverbs 31 woman.

I suspect that many of us have unpleasant memories of others and ourselves.  If somebody deliberately hurt us in the past, then we would gain more by avoiding the person rather than reliving the memory.   My focus on the past is to not to remember the “thorns” of various people and situations but rather recall whatever goodness they brought to my life.  If there was truly no goodness and kindness, then I truly will have no memory.