God Hasn't Forgotten You
By: Kristen L. McNulty
Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.
For years a couple tries to have a child. As the years go by and reality starts to creep in, their hopes fade, but God hasn't forgotten.
A woman's husband is killed, leaving her with a family to raise alone and many debts to pay, but God hasn’t forgotten.
A young man is hard at work and loses someone else’s possession that he cannot afford to replace, but God hasn't forgotten.
When It Looks Hopeless
These three situations have one thing in common- from the outside things look completely hopeless. But at the same time, God hasn't forgotten. How can we know that? Because these situations are not random examples. They sound like they could belong to any one of us or someone we know, yet they all come from the same place.
In the book of 2 Kings all of these stories are told. After years of Elijah's warnings of God's judgement, God sent Elisha to the people to remind them that they weren’t forgotten and that they were loved.
We see that as the widow, desperate for help, is given the resources to repay the debts owed and be sustained afterwards. We see that as the couple, although it's naturally impossible, are blessed with a son. We also see that as Elisha took the time out to find the lost ax head, even though it was humanly impossible to find, lying at the bottom the Jordan River. God hasn’t forgotten.
God Hasn't Forgotten You
Fast forward to here and now. The year may be different, the times may have changed, but God hasn’t forgotten. The same God who promised to never leave or forsake you has not forgotten you.
He has not forgotten the overworked pastor with an ungrateful congregation. He has not forgotten the young college student who is struggling to live a life of purity. He has not forgotten the one who is weighed down by illness and is devastated by the doctors diagnosis. He has not forgotten the worker whose bills owed far outweigh what the paycheck is bringing in. He has not forgotten you.
Maybe you're finding that hard to believe because right now things are looking pretty hopeless. If that's you, you are not alone. There will be times in your life where you go through something painful and seek to find out the reason why. There will be times where you pray and it seems like each prayer goes unanswered. There will be times where the darkness lingers for way too long before the dawn. But in these times we need to recognize and understand there is a huge difference between God delaying a change in your circumstances and God forgetting about you and your struggle.
Truth From His Word
In Isaiah 49 the people of Jerusalem were convinced that God had both deserted them and forgotten them. God's response: "Never. Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you. See, I have written your name on my hand."
In the same way that in the pre-smartphone days we would jot down on our hands reminders of things we didn't want to forget, God has written your name on His hand. The hands that stretched the sky across the horizon and the same hands that were pierced for our sins has your name written on them.
He can’t get you off of His mind or out of His heart. In fact, Romans 8 tells us that Jesus not only thinks about you, but is in heaven interceding on your behalf to God the Father. While He might not provide a way out of your storm in the way you thought, Jesus does bring you the strength you need to ride the waves and He makes sure you never go through even a minute of it alone.
Isaiah 43:1-3:
"But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
'Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.'"
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