Remember to Forget

Throughout Psalm 25, David pleads to God for deliverance and forgiveness. In the middle of the Psalm are two verses about remembering and forgetting. The entire section reads:

Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love for they are from of old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.

David begins by asking God to remember His mercy and love as He looks upon him. Then, he reaches the core of his plea, asking God to forget the sins of his youth and his rebellious ways, choosing instead to remember His steadfast love for him. Why does David make this request of God? Because he knows that it aligns with God’s nature—God is good.

When we are young, we all do pretty stupid and selfish things. We pursue our own desires often at the expense of others. We disregard God’s warnings and commands in our youth, thinking we’re invincible and believing that God understands our desire to “live a little.” One day, we wake up (if we’re fortunate enough to survive our youth) and regret many of our youthful sins and mistakes. Unable to undo the past, we are left to wrestle with feelings of regret, guilt, and remorse. Even after repenting and asking for forgiveness, we often struggle to fully trust that God has truly forgotten our past sins. We may even fear that these sins could hinder His willingness to help us now.

David is clearly struggling with this fear. He pleads with God to remember to forget. Forget the sins of my youth God and remember you love me. David’s prayer doesn’t end there. Instead, he continues, demonstrating his complete confidence that God will indeed choose to forget.

Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

So, if you’re anything like me, and you can’t sleep or wake up reliving your past mistakes. Remember, you can pray the prayer of David. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.

And because we serve a good and upright God, if we remain faithful and walk in His ways, He will demonstrate His love and faithfulness. He will remember to forget because He is good. #Remember