There was a time when the ancient people of God said…

"The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me."

This is one of the most gut wrenching feelings a person can have. Isn't it? Have you felt forsaken? That's the terrible feeling you have when the people that matter to you have turned away and left you. Have you felt forgotten? That's the terrible feeling you have when the people that matter to you don't even think about you anymore.

Isolated. Alone. Who cares? Nobody cares.

God addressed them in Isaiah 49:15 – 16. "Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands."

Commenting on this verse John Calvin says, "This comparison describes the Lord's inconceivable care for us. It is as if he said, "I cannot look at my hands without seeing you in them. I carry you engraved on my heart, so that no forgetfulness can efface you; in a word, I cannot forget you without forgetting myself."

Do you believe this about God? AW Tozer says, "What you believe about God is the most important thing about you." I agree with him.

How were you engraved on the palms of his hands? Look at the nail pierced palms of Jesus Christ who paid to purchase you. God cannot forget you because he cannot forget what he has done for you by coming, himself, Incarnate, as the Lamb of God, sacrificed for you. Look to Christ on the cross. I pray that there you see yourself united to him. As God the Father remembers him, he will remember you. Therefore, he says to you in Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Trust in him today. Even if you have forsaken and forgotten him. Return. Trust. Then know: You are not forsaken. You are not forgotten.

You are loved.

Musings from Pastor John, May 3