And the Lord said to Moses, Thus shall you say to the Israelites, You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. Exodus 20:22, Amplified Bible

By the time we read Exodus Chapter 20, God had devastated Egypt with miraculous plagues, parted the Red Sea in a show of supernatural power, and provided water from a rock to His children at Meribah. Now, at the giving of The Ten Commandments, God speaks directly to Israel in such a show of majesty that the people feared for their lives. At this point in time, no Israelite doubted the existence or the power of God. Yet forty days and nights later, the Israelites had forgotten God, replacing Him with an idol of gold made with their own hands (Exodus 32).

Once upon a time I was quick to judge the children of Israel, wondering how it was possible to forget someone so soon – or at all – who has done so much for you. But now, I understand how easily we forget. I understand that if we don’t witness God’s miracles and majesty on a daily basis, we, too, will replace Him with our own idols. We won’t replace Him with idols of gold or wood, but we will replace Him with some wretched lust of our own, leading us down a path that can only end in destruction.

To counter our forgetfulness, we need only form one simple habit. Each day, Moses went to his tent, known as the Tent of Meeting, to spend time with God. Moses’ tent was without the camp, free from interference or distraction, and when he arrived there, the Lord descended upon the tent in a pillar of cloud and spoke with him (Exodus 33). Each day, at whatever time of day you are freshest and clearest of mind, go to your tent of meeting. Shut out all distraction, open your mind to God’s Spirit and His Word, and then you’ll come face-to-face with the wonderful reality that your Creator is real, powerful, and your best Friend.

If we master this habit of daily communion with God, we will not forget God. If we fail to do so, we will forget Him, and we will experience the pain that inevitably follows forgetfulness.