Daily Hope by Rick Warren April 17 2023

When our dreams are delayed, we tend to forget things. We forget what God has done in our lives and his goodness in the past. We forget that God is with us. We forget God’s power that he uses to fulfill our dreams.

The Israelites made this same mistake in the wilderness: “They forgot the many times [God] showed them his love, and they rebelled against the Almighty at the Red Sea. But he saved them, as he had promised, in order to show his great power . . . But they quickly forgot what he had done and acted without waiting for his advice” (Psalm 106:7-8, 13 GNT).

It’s unbelievable how short their memory was! In Egypt, God sent 10 plagues on the Egyptians just to rescue his people. But the children of Israel forgot about God’s actions just days later when they were at the Red Sea, saying, “We’re all going to die!” They forgot what God had done.

Then, God miraculously opened the Red Sea, and they crossed it on dry land, but they forgot all about it just a few days later when they thought they would die of thirst. Then, God miraculously provided water in the desert, but they forgot all about it just a few days later when they thought they would die of starvation.

They were constantly forgetting what God had done for them!

But we shouldn’t be too quick to judge them—because we do the exact same thing. When a delay occurs in our lives, we start acting like God has never done anything for us. Has God done things for you in the past? Sure he has. And you can count on him to do more things for you tomorrow and the next day and the day after that.

Instead of forgetting, you need to remember God’s promises. There are more than 7,000 of them in the Bible. Whenever you have a problem, find a promise like 2 Timothy 2:13: “Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us . . . and he will always carry out his promises to us” (TLB). God’s promises are always greater than the problems you’re facing!

If God hasn’t fulfilled a promise in your life, it could be because he’s waiting on you. He’s waiting on you to learn to not fear, not fret, not faint, not forget. He wants to develop you before he delivers you.

God could do things immediately—but he’s working on a larger agenda. The delays that come in your life do not destroy God’s purpose. They fulfill God’s purpose in your life.

“Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me” (Psalm 103:2 NLT).