Forget About It

"Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old." Isaiah 43:18 (NKJV)

One of the greatest things about living in America is that you are afforded the luxury of experiencing various types of culture. Without leaving the country one can experience diverse cultural languages, norms, etc. and never get their passport stamped. In reflecting upon that I think about the phrase “forget about it”, this phrase has been typically affiliated with New York Italian culture utilized in mobster films since the 1970’s. For example, Johnny Depp explains in the movie “Donny Brisco” what the term means: if you agree with someone, forget about it or if something is the greatest thing in the world, forget about it. That’s Depp’s understanding but where I’m from this idiom literally means stop worrying about something or dismiss a request.

In our verse for today God is speaking to his chosen people ultimately telling them to “forget about it”, don’t worry about how I brought you through the Red Sea or delivered you from Egypt. One of the reasons is because God desires to do something new with his people. What hinders us from God doing something new in our lives is the constant need to gravitate to the old or former things. You have new clothes that fit comfortably but consistently hold on to the old clothes that you’re never going to wear again. Forgetting is not only inclusive of the negative but also the positive as well, spending excessive time focusing on things already accomplished can deter you from achieving new success. What won’t you give yourself permission to forget that is hindering or holding you back from the new things God has waiting? God is getting ready to work something far greater for his people, but they first must forget, forgetting can be the unlocking to great things. New ideas, concepts, ventures, etc. can’t be deposited because your mind is cluttered with too many things that need to be forgotten. So why not just Forget About It?