I think I have a lot in common with Dory the fish and the Israelites. We're all dealing with some short term memory loss problems.
Let's talk about the Israelites first. They are slaves in Egypt. God sends plagues to the land of Egypt to reveal His power and rescue His people from captivity. The Israelites watch as God sends frogs and boils and gnats and flies and hail and locusts and darkness to Egypt. They are spared from God's wrath towards the Egyptians, and when Pharaoh finally relents and allows them to leave, the LORD guides the Israelites out of Egypt, going ahead of them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. And, if that's not proof enough for them that God has things under control, when the Egyptians come after the Israelites, God parts the Red Sea so that the Israelites can walk through on dry ground, and then drowns the Egyptians when they attempt to follow.
God parted the Red Sea. And the Israelites walked through it. They walked through the sea. And it was dry. Because God parted it. He dried up a path long enough for His people to walk through it... and then He un-dried it and drowned the Egyptians.
God parted the sea.
Seriously, He parted the sea.
GOD PARTED THE SEA!!!!
Really, now... seas don't part. Usually. That's not normal. But, God can part seas! And the Israelites got to walk through a parted sea!!
When they got to the other side, they had a party. They celebrated and sang and danced and I bet it was pretty great!
And then... three days later, the Israelites grumble because they want some water.
What?
Really? Three days? It's only been three days? In three days, they forgot how God had taken care of them? In three days, they forgot how God had parted a sea and provided a way? In three days, they stop the celebration because they're thirsty?
GOD PARTED THE RED SEA THREE DAYS AGO, PEOPLE!!!! But the Israelites had already forgotten. Instead of remembering what their God could do, what He had done, instead of trusting Him and relying on Him, they grumble and complain and question His ability to care for them. They forget how good God is.
As much as I would like to think that my memory is better than that of the Israelites, I know that my heart is prone to wander, just like theirs. Their story is an accurate representation of my heart condition. I have a tendency to forget about God's goodness and sovereignty. Instead of trusting Him, remembering the way that He rescued me out of darkness and into His marvelous light, recalling His constant provision, and joyfully praising Him for Christ's work on my behalf, I get wrapped up in lesson plans and stacks of papers to grade, I worry about fulfilling responsibilities and stress about meeting deadlines and complain about not getting enough sleep.
"I suffer from short term memory loss. It runs in my family! At least... I think it does... Where are they?..."
That has always been one of my favorite lines from Finding Nemo because I always thought it was funny. Now, I'm beginning to see that it is a line that I can deeply relate to.
My name is Hannah, and I suffer from short term memory loss. It runs in my family. We have a problem remembering big things sometimes. Everyday, I forget how good God is. I forget the gospel. I forget that Christ is sufficient.
But God is good, the gospel is true, and Christ is sufficient! And that is wonderful news to my forgetful heart.
