Remember when you actually had to know people's phone numbers?  There were letters on the dial, but they had nothing to do with your name.  Instead, you had a number.  And I had this weird gift.  I could just remember people's phone numbers.  I seldom had to look them up.  For some reason they just stuck with me.  (And I can still remember every phone number I've ever had in my life starting with the one that got printed on my name tag at the bus stop for kindergarten.)  Nowadays?  If anyone asks for my kids' numbers, I have to look them up in my contacts.

As it turns out, maybe my gift wasn't all that special. Memory specialists give tests where participants are asked to memorize sequences of numbers that are three digits long. Then more digits are added. Most people can remember 5-9 digits in sequence, before they start forgetting, but the optimum number folks can handle is seven digits. The length of a phone number. Hmm.

Memory is an interesting thing. I find that I remember things I wish I could forget, like many of my disappointments and failures in life. But I also find it hard to remember other things - like did I remember to put down the garage door? Sometimes I have to drive back around the block to make sure.

Sadly, our memories often work against us spiritually, too. We are far too quick to forget the good things God has done for us, and, as a result, our faith wavers and falters.

David writes in Psalm 103

² Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

It's not that we actually forget the good things that God has done for us (like those listed above), it's that we don't choose to recall them. A problem comes and we fixate on the problem. Something threatens us and we forecast all kinds of negative outcomes. Bad news comes and we worry about long-term fall out. Why? Because we fail to remember what God has done for us in the past.

Doubt creeps in. Fear takes hold. We become impulsive or act unwisely. We have a memory problem.

So why not take a few moments to do so remembering? Remember the forgiveness God has given you - and what it cost Jesus. He still forgives. Remember that times God has healed you - and not just physically. He still heals. Think of the times that he has brought you up from the pit, when he has overwhelmed you with love and compassion. He still does that, too. Remember the times when he has flooded your life with goodness. He's still the same God. Remember?

 Let those memories of God inform your faith.  If God has done it before, he can do it again!  And don't you forget it!