After planes crashed into buildings on September 11, 2001, people vowed they would never forget. Same with Pearl Harbor, the Holocaust, and the Challenger explosion. Today, with any tragic event, people use the hashtag #neverforget on social media.

Each time I see that, there’s a little part of me that thinks we say that because we know we just might forget. Actually, we absolutely will forget. Because that’s what people do.

A king named David who lived about 3,000 years ago knew it too. Instead of reminding himself not to forget the tragic events in this life, he reminded himself to #neverforget the good things. 

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:2-5).

Forgetting the blessings God gives is our human tendency, especially in the hard and tragic times. We forget God is faithful and his love endures forever. We forget he promises never to leave us. We forget he puts his love and compassion on us. We forget he told us that even though bad things happen in this world, Jesus has overcome the world. And we forget this hard world is temporary and our eternal home is coming soon.

Praise the Lord. Remember his benefits. #neverforget