Have you ever been, or are you currently, in a period of life when you wonder whether the Lord sees what is going on? Whether He cares? Whether He has forgotten you? Things aren’t going well and the Lord seems far away. Maybe you feel like you are to blame for the distance between you and God, or maybe you don’t, but either way, you are not where you want to be and you wonder if you’ve fallen off of God’s “radar.”
I’ve certainly been in this position more times than I’d like to admit. And one thing I’ve learned from these experiences is that though there are many questions in life that are difficult to answer, I believe the one about whether God has forgotten you is not one of those. It is not difficult to answer. Why? Because the Bible is so clear on the subject!
When God’s people are poised to go into the Promised Land and know they will have to face many hardships to win the land, God reminds their leader, Joshua, that He will never leave them nor forsake His people. In the book of Jeremiah, when the Israelites are living in captivity in enemy territory, God declared that He was close to them and not to give up hope as they waited on deliverance by God. God even likened Himself to a nursing mother when He asked, in the book of Isaiah, “Could a mother forget the child nursing at her breast? Well, she might, but I will never forget you.”AndJesus declared that no one would be able to snatch His people from His hand (John 10:28)
One of my favorite examples of God’s faithfulness to us shows up in Isaiah 49:16: God says that He has engraved us on His hand. Now that’s an interesting thing to say! Think about it… engraved means etched which means essentially tattooed. God has tattooed us on His hand! And God’s hand is always mentioned in Scripture with reference to His strength, power, protection, provision or guidance. God is continually aware of our lives and the situations confronting us, whether they’re our fault or not (that’s not the point.) His love and power extends beyond our goodness, thanks to Jesus’ work on the Cross for us. And if this were not enough, we read in the book of Romans that both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are constantly making intercession for us before the Father. Geewhizz, can it get better than that?
Take heart if you feel God is miles away from you and doesn’t care about you and your current situation. God’s Word makes it clear that He is never far from you, no matter what your feelings are telling you, and He will never leave you nor forsake you. You are in good hands… big, beautiful tattooed hands!
Joshua 1:5 I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Jeremiah 29:10-14 This is what the Lord says, “When 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you and will bring you back from captivity.”
Isaiah 49:14-15 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”
John 10:28 No one will be able to snatch them (My people) out of My hands.
Isaiah 49:16 “ See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.”