Did You Forget Me?

 

“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!”

Isaiah 49:14-15 (NIV)

 

My heart was almost pounding out of my shirt as I silently yelled “I’m late! I’m late!” All I could think of was my five year old son getting off the school bus and me not being there to hug him and welcome him home! I was chatting with the ladies at a local church after I had spoken at their meeting when I realized that I was late getting home to meet my son as he got off the bus. I always met him at the back door – except today.

 

I quickly put his sisters in their car seats and drove the speed limit (well, maybe a little over) in an attempt to get there before the school bus did but I failed. My eyes filled with tears as I turned the corner at my home and saw my little boy sitting on the swing set, holding tightly to his lunch box as if he could somehow gain strength and courage from it.

 

I jumped out of the car, pulled him into my arms and wiped the tears running down his face. He looked up at me and only said four words: “Did you forget me?” but the way he whispered them – as if he was hurt beyond belief that I would ever do such a thing – broke my heart.

 

 “Did you forget me?” Have you ever asked God that question? You’ve been in a situation that has threatened to drown you day after day, month after month – maybe even year after year. And your heart wonders . . . just maybe this time God isn’t listening and answering.  Maybe this time He doesn’t care.

 

Perhaps you’ve prayed for a prodigal child for years and he or she continues to run from a relationship with the Lord and with you. Or you sat staring in shock as you listened to your doctor share with you that the cancer is back. Maybe it seems like the harder you pray, the more distant your spouse seems to be. “Did you forget me, God?” you ask.

 

Isaiah 49:14-15 answers that question emphatically: “I will not forget you!” The Lord is encouraging His people who are going to be in captivity to remember that, no matter what, He has not forgotten them. God knows exactly where they are and what they are facing and – for the moment – He in His wisdom is allowing the situation to happen. God also knows exactly what is going on in our lives, no matter what we are facing.

 

He hasn’t forgotten us. Simply put, He says that a mother could never forget her newborn child and her love for its life. But, even if she did forget, He – God – will never forget us, His children.

  

Hold on to that promise today, knowing that no matter what storm you are in or crisis you are battling, the Lord is at your side, He has not forgotten you, He never will, and He is faithful.

 

Father, thank you for your reassurance in your word that you will never forget me and always stay by my side. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

R.A.P. it up . . .

 

Reflect

• Have you ever felt like God has forgotten about you and what is going on in your life?

 

Apply

• Journal God’s promise from today’s Key Scripture: “I will not forget you!”
•  During your prayer time each day, speak this truth to the Lord: “I KNOW you have not forgotten me. Give me strength and hope for this day.”

 

Power

• Isaiah 49:14-15 (NIV) “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!”

 

• Hebrews 13:5 (NIV) “. . . God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”

 

• Psalm 139: (NIV) “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.”

 

 

A Hair-Raising Experience

 

“And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t

be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Matthew 10:30-31 (NIV)

 

When I was a little girl, I knew that I was not blessed with a full head of hair like my sisters. For one thing, it was obvious when I looked in a mirror. But until I was about 10 years old, I thought it was somehow the fault of my mother’s attempt to tame my hair.

 

 I had even considered that when God was creating me, He called out “Hair!” but one of the angels thought He said “Nair!” and dumped a bottle of the instant hair remover in my genes. And then I saw some pictures of me at about 2 years of age.

 

“How in the world could you cut my hair like that?” I demanded of my mother. “I look weird.” She immediately shook her head. “It wasn’t me. You didn’t have any hair until you were five years old.”

 

Perhaps that will help you to understand why, at first, I was not overly impressed with the Scripture in Matthew 10 about God knowing how many hairs I had on my head. I remember thinking “How big a deal is that if you have hair like mine?” But further inspection reveals so much more about what Jesus meant.

 

On average, there are over 100,000 strands of hair on a young adult. Each individual hair lasts for two to six years before it falls out and another begins to grow and take its place. There is no way I could figure out a system to correctly count the number of hairs on my head – or any one else’s for that matter. What a tedious, time-consuming job that would be!

 

But is that all Jesus was saying? That He was divinely capable of doing a head – err – hair count? Not at all. I believe that Jesus was using a visual picture to show us just how much we are loved.

 

First, He is emphasizing to us that He has knowledge of all things, no matter how insignificant they may seem to the world around us.

 

Secondly, He is subtly reminding us that He is our Creator and knows exactly how we are made – from our heads to our hearts to our toes – because He designed us!

 

Do you get it? If He cares enough to want to know everything about us, it is because He is crazy mad in love with you and you and you and me! And for that very reason He will watch over us, His priceless creation, each and every day.

 

I am never going to have hair like a model but I am always going to have a Father who values every hair on my head because of His great love for me.   

 

Father, Thank you for reminding me in today’s Scripture that you know everything about me, your creation, and that you love me more than I can ever imagine. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

 

R.A.P. it up . . .

 

Reflect

• Have you ever felt like you weren’t worth very much to the Lord?

 

• What person or situation caused you to feel that way?

 

Application

• Write today’s Scripture on a note card and place it with your combs and brushes as a reminder of God’s love for you.

 

• Each time you brush your hair, silently thank the Lord for loving you enough to watch over each detail of your life.

 

Power Verses

• Matthew 10:30-31 (NIV) “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

 

• Luke 12:7 (NIV) “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

 

• Isaiah 43:1 (NIV) “But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.’”