“This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope” (Lamentations 3:21)  

Saints can experience biological changes which can make a previously happy person sad, and cause an extrovert to withdraw within himself. Long seasons of pain can cause a saint to begin to lose hope, and stop seeking the Lord. But in all these circumstances, memory can be part of the problem, or part of the solution. Despairing minds remember dark forebodings of the past, and apply them to disappointments of the present, and create self-fulfilling prophesies of doom. But it doesn’t have to be this way. 

 The same faculty that brings doubt and unbelief through the Old Man, can bring hope and faith through the New Man. The instinct that causes saints to have panic attacks can be made to sit in the corner when the New Man takes charge. Memory may take you on the path of past failures, but from there, it can be trained to step up to higher ground, and remind you of how God forgave you, and made a way, where there seemed to be no way. 

 Here's what Jeremiah recalled to his mind: “Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!’ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:22-25). 

 In the hand of wisdom, memory is a two-edged sword. First, when you remember how you failed in the past, it kills your pride. Then, when you remember how God forgave you and made a way, it restores your hope and faith. If we exercise our memories wisely, we’ll find the hope and faith to overcome any obstacle. “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:18). “This is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith” (1 John 5:4). There’s no need for God to create a new thing in order to restore believers to joy; if they would remember the kept promises of the past, they’ll have the hope and faith to go forward. But you must, as an act of your will, remember the lovingkindness of the Lord, and rehearse His deeds of grace.