DO YOU FEEL FORGOTTEN BY GOD?
TEXT:
"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." (Isaiah 49 verses 15 to 16, King James Version).
There are times in our lives as God's children when we feel forsaken and forgotten by God. The Psalmist, for instance, in Psalms 42 verse 9 cried saying,
"I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?"
This happens when we don't see things go the way we had expected them to go for us, especially when we've prayed and waited for so long a time for God to show up for us and He doesn't seem to do that. At such times, we despair and become filled with anguish that we want to throw in the towel. It's often a moment when we are reproached by mockers, saying daily unto us "Where is thy God?" (Psalms 42 verse 10).
At such moments, the devil keeps saying to us that God has forsaken us and that He's not worthy to be trusted. But that's far from being true!
According to Isaiah 49 verse 13, in spite of God's assurance of comfort and mercy upon His afflicted, God's children keep saying, "The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me." (Isaiah 49 verse 14).
Truth is, God can never abandon or forget us, because it's not in His nature to do so. He's faithful and will always stand by His children (see Deuteronomy 31 verse 6, Hebrews 13 verse 5, Psalms 94 verse 14).
Our Scripture reading for today further lays it plain before us: "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, YET WILL I NOT FORGET THEE. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." (Emphasis added).
In the strongest possible terms, God is making us understand here that even if it were possible for a suckling mother to forget to give suck to her child (which is doubtful), He will not forget us His children. This is beautiful!
I have always preached and will continue to preach affirming God's faithfulness to His children. In Isaiah 44 verse 21, we equally have an unequivocal expression of God's faithfulness to His children. Hear Him:
"Remember these, O Jacob
and Israel; for thou art my servant:
I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, THOU SHALT NOT BE FORGOTTEN OF ME." (Emphasis added).
This morning, it's possible that because of the multitude of afflictions and trials you go through in life, you have forgotten that God has said that you shall not be forgotten by Him. Actually, it's God's children that are in the habit of forgetting Him (see Isaiah 17 verse 10, Jeremiah 2 verse 32 and 18 verse 15) and not the other way round. To wallow in doubt about God's faithfulness to you is evidence of having forgotten Him.
The Lord has specifically asked me to reach out to you this morning to tell you to stop believing the devil's lie that you have been forsaken and forgotten by your Heavenly Father.
"THOU SHALT NOT BE FORGOTTEN OF ME", saith the Lord of Host!
Brace up and remain steadfast, dearly beloved! God is showing up soon for you! Again, hear Him:
"O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones." (Isaiah 54 verses 11 to 12).
The Lord is saying here, amongst other things, that He's about to rebuild you with stones of turquoise, lay your foundations with sapphires, construct your towers with rubies, your gates with jewels, and all your walls with precious stones. This is simply beautiful.
Do I have someone to say "Amen" to what God is saying this morning?
PRAYER:
Amen.