We live in a chemically-saturated culture. People take drugs—illegal, prescribed and alcohol—for many reasons. A common one is the desperate attempt to forget yesterday’s failures.
A wrong belief that drives the misconception that we can forget is something we’re told repeatedly: we should “forgive and forget.” Forgiving and forgetting are treated as though they are conjoined twins; as though one guarantees the other. But again and again, people are disappointed and feel like they’ve failed because they can’t forget hurts and offenses.
The reason it won’t work is that our minds are not designed to forget! We can choose to forgive; we cannot forget. We’ve been told God forgets our sin, so we’re to forget the sins of others. But God isn’t forgetful! A part of God’s infinite nature is omniscience—knowing all things at all times without having to learn what He knows. If God ever forgot one tiny thing, He would not be infinite, omniscient God. We are created in His image, and even though our ability to recall things is limited, we, like Him, don’t forget.
This misunderstanding about forgiveness comes from misinterpreting Jeremiah 31:34 where God says, “…I will forgive their iniquity. I will remember their sin no more”. The word “forget” is not found in the Biblical definition of forgiveness. “Forget” is an American-English misinterpretation of the phrase: “remember no more”. The word (OT:2142) zakar (zaw-kar’) means to be recognized; to remember; by implication, to mention. The correct understanding of the word is that God will not continue to bring the offense up; He refuses to mention it or repeatedly think on our transgression. It doesn’t mean He has forgotten the offense; instead He remembers it though the blood sacrifice of His Son.
Because emotions are always produced by what we think, if we continue to call our hurts and disappointments to the forefront of our minds—we focus on them, and replay them over and over again—our emotions continually stay in turmoil. Or, if we try to bury the hurts and disappointments through the use of chemicals or by trying to “just forget about it,” through busyness, entertainment and constant noise, the memory becomes a festering sore that no amount of medication can heal or erase.
The word forgiveness means to “release a debt”. God does not command us to forget, but to recognize the offense; acknowledging that the blood of Jesus has paid for that transgression so we can choose to let it go. Only then is it possible to haul away the trash of resentment, bitterness and revenge and rebuild, if not the relationship, certainly our own joy and freedom.
To be truly well physically and emotionally, we must intentionally choose God’s way of being well over the world’s way, presented to us on a daily basis.
To overcome worry and anxiety, Jesus calls us to remember that He lives in us, and receive His peace and rest (Matthew 11:28-30) Safety and security come from acknowledging and trusting God as our Refuge, Protector and Provider (Psalm 91; Psalm 46) To forgive those who hurt us, we must recall God’s great gift of forgiveness on our behalf (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13) 3 John 2: Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and that your body may keep well, even as your soul keeps well and prospers.
The soul is our mind, will and emotions. The only way to be well in our soul is to keep our thoughts, choices and feelings in agreement with God, our Designer and Creator.
Infinite Grace Ministries teaches Biblical truth about God’s great love toward us in Christ through one-on-one Biblical Guidance ministry. You may now watch Dr. Dixie’s studies on our updated website: www.infinitegrace.com. Call 580774-2884 to learn how to partner with us through this essential ministry or to make an appointment .
