Amnesia                                                                                                       10-25-13

I saw, this week past, an interview with Tori Hunter, the centerfielder for the Detroit Tigers. The interviewer asked Hunter a question about a circumstance that occurred during a game where Hunter had failed to execute. I can't remember the particulars. It was probably concerning an at bat or a fielding play that Hunter had messed up. The interviewer asked him" how do you come back from a situation where you have failed?" Hunter's reply was this,"... you have to develop amnesia in this game or you won't be around very long." His reply brought to mind something Brother Mushegan often said.

" Life is like a wheel" he used to say, "Sometimes you're on top, sometimes you're on the bottom."
Good days, bad days, in betweeners, hills, valleys,this is the stuff that life is made of. The trick is not to get too absorbed in any of it.

   Philippians 3:13 (NASB) ¹³  Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

You see that wheel has two different perspectives depending upon where we are perched. Whether on top or bottom we have only one direction to go. Allow me to illustrate. Here you are on top of the world. Good job, good marriage, kids all doing good, bills paid and all of a sudden one report from the doctor and your life is turned upside down. The wheel rolls. Or how about from the bottom. A true life example. I remember a man that I used to go to church with who was a plumber. Now, this guy went through some hard times. Some really tough times. But, if I remember correctly he was turned into a millionaire literally overnight. He signed a contract with a huge grocery chain that turned his financial fortunes in a complete 180. You see, in a New York minute, everything can change. The wheel rolls. The snare for us is when we get lost in our circumstances whether good or bad. In the midst of suffering and affliction, it is tempting to give up on God and become embittered. Been there and done that. While at the opposite pole, when we are flying high, it is ooohhh so easy to forget God and the fact that it was He who made our good life possible. Been there and done that. Look at the Book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 30:7-9 (NASB) ⁷  Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die:
⁸  Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
⁹  That I not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.


This guy Agur knew exactly how we humans behave didn't he? When it's good we can be bad and when it's bad we can be worse!(smile) But, that is Paul's admonition here isn't it. Forget the past, it is gone. Lock in and press toward the prize of the Lord Jesus. The one thing that I must keep reminding myself of, is the fact that God is sovereign. No matter what the circumstances, God has allowed those circumstances,good or bad to achieve His purpose and will. Now, those words are apples of gold when you are sitting on top and have the world by the tail. Those apples turn sour and aren't nearly as tasty at the southern end of that wheel. Give me neither poverty NOR riches. Amen? Remember the old cliche? Success and failure are both impostors. Yes, it IS a cliche. But, it rings very true. The only fixed point that we have to navigate this life is the Lord Jesus and His truth. Everything else is a revolving door of change.

Brothers and sisters hear this. If you are living in the salad days at present, know that it was God that got you there and it is God that will keep you there. If you are at the bottom of the ocean with a 500 pound millstone around your neck, know this..God can change your circumstances overnight just as He did for my friend. Listen to Paul's words.

 Philippians 4:11-12 (NASB) ¹¹  Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
¹²  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

How does that commercial go? FORGGEETT ABOUT IT! God is very able to see you and me through whatever life throws at us. He is able.

Psalm 40:4-5 (NASB) ⁴  How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
⁵  Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.


God Bless