Joshua explicitly connects the Jordan crossing to the Red Sea crossing, reminding the people of God’s pattern of faithfulness. This wasn’t accidental – it was a deliberate strategy to combat forgetfulness. The greatest enemy of faith isn’t persecution or suffering – it’s simply forgetting how God has been faithful in the past.
Israel’s history is a repetitive cycle: they experience God’s faithfulness, they forget God’s faithfulness, they fall into fear and idolatry, God delivers them again. This pattern reveals how dangerous spiritual amnesia can be. When we forget God’s track record in our lives, we subject ourselves to unnecessary fear and anxiety.
Forgetfulness makes us interpret current challenges as evidence that God has abandoned us rather than seeing them as opportunities for God to show His faithfulness again. It causes us to respond to new difficulties with panic rather than with faith. It makes us doubt God’s character instead of trusting His consistency.
This is why memorials are so crucial. They’re not just nice traditions – they’re strategic weapons against the forgetfulness that threatens to undermine our faith. When we create intentional reminders of God’s faithfulness, we’re building fortifications against the doubt and fear that naturally arise when we face new challenges.
The antidote to fear isn’t hoping that life will get easier – it’s remembering that God has never failed to see you through before, and He won’t start now.