Taming our Memories

 

Taming our Memories Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope. Lamentations 3:21 Memory is often a slave to despair. When we’re discouraged, we tend to remember all the dark moments of our past and dwell on the gloom. Our memory, wrapped in mourning, serves up sorrow and regret. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With wisdom, we can train our memory to become an angel of comfort. The same memory that brings sorrow can be taught to bring hope. This was Jeremiah’s experience. In one verse, his memory humbled him: “My soul remembers them and is humbled within me.” But in the very next verse, the same memory revived him: “This I recall to mind, and therefore I have hope.” Memory, like a sharp sword, cut down Jeremiah's pride with one edge and then defeated his despair with the other. If we use our memory prayerfully and with a healthy dose of God's grace, memories can spark the light of comfort and hope. God is the one who turns our ashes into joy. Let’s make it a practice to remember the Lord’s loving-kindness and recount His deeds of grace. In this way, our memory can become “the fountain of joy,” and when the Holy Spirit uses it, it can be one of the greatest sources of comfort in our lives. From Morning & Evening by Charles Spurgeon