He will not forget | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: July 14, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 11

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of July 2024. My prayer is that God will remember every good thing He has purposed to do in your life this year and begin to do it without delay, so that His glory may manifest in your life afresh before the year runs out, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

One of the things we are shown in Scriptures is that God does not forget or overlook people’s good works. In like manner, He does not forget or overlook people’s evil works. Yes, if a wicked person seeks God’s mercy and forgiveness and also turns away from his wicked works, God will forget his past wicked works and not punish him for them. And that is because He is a God of mercy. (Cf. Ezek 18:21-23)

But as long as the wicked continue to live in wickedness, their wicked works will not be forgotten by God at all. And when the time is ripe, even if it is a thousand years later, He will surely punish them according to their wickedness. For instance, when Saul was king over Israel, God sent this word to him concerning the Amalekites: “I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'”” (1Sam 15:2-3NIV)

Did you see that? Even though several years had gone by, God did not forget the wickedness of the Amalekites towards the children of Israel when they just came out of Egypt (Exodus 17). Instead, He remembered everything vividly and decided to punish them for it during the reign of King Saul. And that is because He is a God of justice. So, if you are doing evil at the moment and God does not seem to notice it, the reason is that the time for your punishment is not yet ripe. When the time for your punishment is ripe, God will not forget to deal with you appropriately and adequately.

In like manner, if you are doing good and it seems that God is not paying attention at all, don’t relent. That is because God is never going to forget or overlook your good works. The bible says, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” (Heb 6:10NIV) Did you see that? God is not an unjust God. He is not a God that will remember to repay the wicked for their wicked works but not remember to repay the righteous for their good works.

Some of us have had bosses at work that always remembered to abuse and punish us for our failures but never remembered to praise or reward us for the successes we brought to them. And that would have discouraged us in many ways. But God is not like that. He is not a God that remembers people’s bad works alone, so as to punish them accordingly. Rather, He is a God that also remembers people’s good works, so as to reward them accordingly.

However, God’s time of rewarding people is not what any of us can choose for Him. None of us is even wise enough to be able to choose for Him the time to reward us for the good things we are doing. He is the only one wise enough to reward us at the right time, when we will be able to full enjoy whatever reward He gives to us. And that is why we are told not to get tired of doing good, for God will remember to reward us for it at the proper time if we do not give up (Gal 6:9).

So, even if it does not look like anything good will come out of all that you are doing for the Lord, for His people and for others around you, don’t be discouraged. That is because God is taking note of everything. And when the time is ripe, He will surely remember to reward you. But if you have allowed discouragement to set in because you cannot see any immediate reward from God for what you are doing, know that He will not remember to reward you for good works that you have not done for Him. So, don’t give up on doing good. Instead, continually do more and more. And I pray that nothing will corrupt your good works and make you lose the rewards meant for them, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a great week.

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