Igniting Hope by Remembering What We Forget About God

Remembering doesn’t always come easy.

Two years ago on May 7, 2024, my first traditionally published book released. It was all about forgetting remembering: remembering those things we tend to forget about God and igniting hope in the process.

Write It Down

No one has ever accused me of having a good memory. I often forget what someone said to me, details from years ago, or when something occurred. This happens especially during chaotic or difficult seasons. So I’ve learned to write down those particulars I want to remember.

I have the same type of amnesia spiritually as well. I forget the providence, promises, and presence of the Lord, often when I need hope the most. Realizing my need for remembering God’s character and provisions, I penned a prayer in 2013 that became a blog post and later the seed to my award-winning book, Sometimes I Forget: 60 Reminders of Hope for Your Hard Days. 

Sometimes I Forget

Two years later, I need the reminders I typed in this book as much as ever. Remembering still alludes me.

Truth Reminders including “God knows no limits and can accomplish the impossible in my life.” (p.85)

Prayers like “Sometimes I forget, Lord, that You are compassionate, caring, and helpful. I forget that You want what’s ultimately best for me
and that You are acting on my behalf. Remind me that things are
not always how they seem. What appears good to me may actually
hurt me in the end; what looks like a dead end may be the door to
the answers I desire. Help me trust that You know best, and in your
compassion, You offer what’s best to me.” (p.149)

Encouragement such as “We don’t have to wonder if God’s generosity will run out or if He’ll become stingy with it. God’s nature does not change. He will not become less than what He is now. His thoughtfulness will
span the generations until it culminates in a new heaven and new
earth! The God whose generosity and grace spilled over in offering
us the gift of eternal life “while we were still sinners” (Rom.
5:8) never changes and will never run low on blessings to impart.” (pp.170-171).

Remembering

God knows how important remembering is to igniting hope and growing the faith of His people. Throughout His Word He exhorts us to remember (or not forget).

He had Moses compel the Israelites to “take care lest you forget the Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:12 ESV). He felt strongly enough about it to use a double command in Deuteronomy 9:7 (ESV): “Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness.”

Psalm 103:2 (ESV) calls the soul to “forget not all his benefits.” It is one of many such exhortations by the psalmists.

We still see the admonishment to remember God and His deeds in the New Testament. Peter encourages believers to “recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles” (2 Peter 3:2 CSB). Jesus calls us to regularly partake in the Lord’s Supper “in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19 ESV) “for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28 ESV). Later, He commanded His followers to make disciples by baptizing them and “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20 ESV).

Igniting Hope

God knows how easily we go astray or give into despair. He knew we’d need something in writing to remind us of His love, mercy, grace, truth, precepts, and sufficiency, so He inspired the writing of His Word. The Lord gave us all we need in the books of the Bible.

But still we forget.

You and I need regular reminders to remember the God of the Bible, to remember to be in His Word, to remember to pray, to remember to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to remember to be in fellowship and worship with other believers. May books that point to the Lord and His Word, like Sometimes I Forget, serve as a reminder to that end, helping to ignite hope when despair threatens.

A Second Anniversary Favor Request

Sometimes I Forget turned two this week! Crazy how fast the past two years have went. Two years of helping us remember the faithfulness of God. And it seemed to be the right time to ask for your help in getting more book reviews.

Reviews are incredibly important to the overall success of a book. They give the book validity, indicate interest to the book seller, move Amazon to boost the book’s visibility, and help readers discern whether it is a fit for them. As I’m writing this post, Sometimes I Forget has 35 reviews. I’d love to bump it to 50 during the month of May, the anniversary month of its release.

Creating a review is really quite simple. It only needs to be one or two sentences long. If you read Sometimes I Forget, please take a minute to post a review on Amazon. (And if you haven’t read it yet, what’s stopping you from doing so? Purchase it here.)

Here are step-by-step Amazon review instructions and the Amazon link to Sometimes I Forget. It’s best to keep your comments focused on the book’s contents, not me as the author.

On a Computer

1. Click the above link to the book.
2. Sign in to your Amazon account if prompted.
3. Scroll down to the Customer Reviews section.
4. Click Write a customer review.
5. Choose a star rating (1–5 stars).
6. Add a headline for your review.
7. Write your review in the text box.
8. (Optional) Add photos or videos.
9. Click Submit.

Amazon will usually post the review after it is approved, which can take anywhere from a few minutes to several days.

On the Amazon App

1. Open the Amazon app.
2. Sign in if needed.
3. Search for and tap the book.
4. Scroll to Ratings & Reviews.
5. Tap Write a review.
6. Select your star rating.
7. Write your headline and review.
8. Tap Submit.

That’s it. Thank you so much for your help! If you know others who have read the book, please encourage them to leave a review too.

Reflections: Besides Sometimes I Forget, what other books have pointed  you to God and His Word? What book(s) of the Bible are your favorite(s)? Why?