The Practice of the Presence of JesusSample

Never Forget

An Iranian pastor and his wife escaped persecution by coming to America, but after a year she started pan­icking.

“Can we please go back home?” she pleaded. “I’m spiritually falling asleep here!”

She was being sung to sleep by Satan’s bewitching lullaby that promised comfort, prosperity, and an abundance of “milk and honey.” She was beginning to forget God.

There’s nothing wrong with grocery stores and gas stations. But we must never forget that we all live in houses richly stocked with goods we did not produce; we drink from wells we did not dig and eat from vineyards we did not plant. These are God’s extraordinary gifts, but they come with a warning: “When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery” (Deuteronomy 6:11–12). There’s noth­ing wrong with “milk and honey,” but it can be a little like Valium, making you forget God.

That’s why the Lord gives lean times and hard afflictions. As Brother Lawrence wrote, “Make immediately a holy and firm resolution never more willfully to forget Him.”

Not long ago I had a scare with my heart and lungs (aging with quadriplegia makes it more difficult to inhale enough oxygen). After receiving treatment, I’m now able to breathe better, and I cannot stop thanking Jesus. Every breath is a precious gift from him. My daily afflictions prevent me from lapsing into amnesia when it comes to remembering the many great kindnesses of my Savior.

Practice the presence of Jesus today—and every day— by proclaiming, “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me” (Psalm 103:2).

Meditate: What are the world’s lullabies that make you spiritually drowsy? What tends to wake you up to God’s presence and your dependence on Him?