Forgetting What God Tells Us to Forget

Last updated on: April 5, 2025 at 2:41 pm by Fr. Nicholas Sheehy, LC

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Forgetting What God Tells Us to Forget 2025-04-05T14:41:11-07:00 Fr. Nicholas Sheehy, LC

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Sometimes God wants us to forget, and sometimes God wants us to remember.

Danny Haag tells his testimony in the book God Can Use Others to Save You.

“I had abused alcohol from the age of 13 to 19,” Haag said. “The last straw occurred when I was in Monterey, California for basic training when I was 19. Like many times before it, I was getting drunk again with a buddy, and we got so drunk we couldn’t find our way back to the barracks. The temperature was freezing outside, and we were too drunk to make any good decisions. Thankfully God provided us with a building with some broken down boxes that I was able to pull my buddy into. We crawled underneath it and somehow made it through the night without suffering hypothermia. When we arrived back at the barracks, I immediately got on my knees and prayed to God. I told him I was done living like that and that I wanted better for myself and my future. From that moment I decided to quit alcohol and give my life to Him.” (Huron Daily Tribune, “Huron County native publishes two Christian books, one decades in the making”).

For the gentleman in the story, this event would have long-lasting consequences for his life. He remembers the event, but not to revel in the sinful lifestyle. Rather, it reminds him of how low he can fall and how much better life is when it is lived close to God. He remembers to avoid making the same mistake again and glorifying God throughout his life. He shows the difference between good and bad remembering.

Remembering God’s Grace

It is good to remember the moments of grace in our lives. Grace is God’s “mysterious gift to the human heart that enables men and women to live in the reciprocal and sincere gift of self” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body For Beginners, 2009, p. 41). This is good remembering. It helps to build a true foundation for the way we try to live before God. Bad remembering traps us in our past traumas, making them the focus of our lives rather than God’s grace and redemption. Bad remembering holds on to the negative and makes it our focus.

We all face the temptation to hold onto the past in an unhealthy way. Isaiah invites us to let go of the past, especially the events that keep us from becoming the men and women God calls us to be.

Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! (Is. 43:18-19).

Moving on from Sin

We see another example of Jesus calling people to move beyond their past in the way he interacts with the woman caught in adultery. So often, we write down our past sins in stone. Jesus doesn’t do that. He bends down and writes on the dirt, probably writing down their sins. We write in stone because we want to hold onto our weakest moments. He writes them down in the dirt because he wants to wipe them away. Jesus wants us to move on, as Paul mentions in his letter to the Philippians. He talks about the proper attitude of a Christian

forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, (Phil. 3:13).

Straining forward to what lies ahead is the attitude we are called to have. This forgetting and remembering is linked to the way we look at temptation as well. Jesus and the Devil speak to us very differently within the context of dealing with sin. When we are tempted, Jesus says “stop,” while the Devil says “go.” After the fall, Jesus says “Come here,” while the Devil says “You are lost forever.” The Devil tries to sow despair, while Jesus always wants to give hope.

God Remembers and Forgets

God remembers and forgets. He remembers his merciful love and he forgets our sins. I remember the story one saint told about confession. Somebody was in heaven, talking to Jesus. He asked Jesus about his sins and the Savior responded, “I have already forgotten them.” We can live with a complex of thinking that Jesus is trying to condemn us for our sins. He is the first one who wants to forgive our sins.

In your prayer this week, try to trust God more deeply. We can feel guilty in our relationship with him because we are afraid that he looks to judge us. Ask him for the grace to forget the things that he wants you to let go.

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About Fr. Nicholas Sheehy, LC

Fr. Nicholas Sheehy is Assistant Chaplain at the Duke Catholic Center. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 2013 for the Legionaries of Christ. You can read more about the author here.

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