EXODUS 16:2-3: Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and
Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of
the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For
you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
It’s amazing how we are able to pick and choose the things we want to remember. A young boy was
confronted by his father about the poor grades on his report card. “It’s not my fault, Dad. I can’t
remember anything.” “Well,” his father assured him, “you’re not going to any more baseball games
until you get your grades up.
And to begin with, forget tonight’s game.” “Wait a minute,” said the boy. “You can’t do that to me. The
Braves are in town and Maddux is pitching. He was 15-11 last year with a 2.72 earned run average.
He won four consecutive Cy Young awards and seven straight Gold Gloves. He led the league in
ERA for three straight seasons, has been on five All-Star teams, and has won at least 15 games each
of the last nine years.”
Israel had the same problem–a selective memory. After only a short time in the wilderness, they had
forgotten how they were required to make bricks without straw, how they had been beaten by
merciless taskmasters and how the midwives were commanded to kill the infant Israelite boys to
appease Pharaoh’s fears. Instead, they remembered only the pots of meat and the loaves of bread
they had enjoyed.
Satan may be tempting you in the same way. Maybe this new life is more difficult than you expected
and your days as an unbeliever, as your now remember them, are looking pretty good after all.
Perhaps the devil is reminding you of the sinful things you enjoyed in your old life and blocking the
memories of despair and emptiness you felt as an unbeliever. Ask God to cut through these selective
memories and help you recall the reality of the past. Don’t be fooled by Satan’s selective memories.
THE MEMORIES SATAN SELECTS NEVER REFLECT THE WAY IT REALLY WAS.