“Rejoice, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth; and shout for joy, O mountains, for the Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion on His afflicted ones. But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, and my God has forgotten me.’ Can a woman forget her nursing child, and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me. Your builders hurry; your destroyers and devastators will depart from you” (Isaiah, Ch. 49, Verses 14 – 17*).
Do you ever feel like the Lord has forgotten you? Do you feel neglected, abandoned, or insignificant at times? In times of suffering, it is easy to think that He does not see or care what we are going through. When Jerusalem was destroyed and most of its inhabitants were exiled to Babylon, the people of Israel were also tempted to think that God had forgotten and abandoned them.
However, today's passage directly opposes the idea that pain and hardships are signs of God's absence. After the Lord says that He knows all about Israel's fear of being abandoned, He assures them of His unconditional love. He is as close and attentive and devoted to us as a mother to her nursing baby, and it is impossible for God to forget us. To make this clear to the restless and weary Israelites, He confirms to them that He has inscribed them on the palms of His hands (verse 16). Does this sound familiar to you?
Centuries later, Jesus Christ hangs on the cross with nails piercing His hands—proof that God's words are true and that we are dearer to Him than we can imagine. We are His unforgettable, beloved children.
How would the assurance that we are always on His mind change our daily life and our relationship with our heavenly Father?
Link to the original article: https://www.intouchuk.org/read/daily-devotions/god-remembers-us
* Bible quotes are from Bible, new translation from the original languages © Bulgarian Bible Society 2013