7-8-2025

Good Morning All,

       Isaiah 49:15; “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?  Even these may forget yet I will not forget you.”

  Our high school youth will soon be heading for the National Youth Gathering. I told our chaperone that she only has 4 kids, two of them her own, just don’t lose any of them. Then I foolishly bragged how I had taken thirteen teenagers to San Antonio and brought thirteen back and they were the same ones! I didn’t lose one teen. It was close once at a rest stop.  One young lady was a little tardy but we held the bus until we found her.  We did not forget anyone. But then I remembered. I haven’t always been that successful.  I forgot a son at a basketball game.  I forgot a baseball player once and had to go back and get him.  I lost a son at the all-state chorus one year; actually, I did that twice with the same son!  So, my record isn’t really that good.

    I know these are a little humorous but deep down nothing is as painful as being forgotten.  If you ever seen a group of people being listed and one person is left off; it hurts.  If you have ever been forgotten, you know what I mean.  If you have ever seen the look on the face of someone who has been forgotten, you know the look of pain.

    Our verse is God responding to the Israelites complaint that God had forgotten them as they were taken into captivity.  The people felt abandoned by God.  They were carried off into captivity, the Temple and the city had been destroyed.  So, God gave them this comforting statement.  He compares his loving remembrance to that of a nursing mother forgetting her child.  Can you ever imagine a mother forgetting her nursing child?  The child is nestled to her breast, the mother is gently cuddling the child, whispering sweetly into the child’s ear.  She holds the child close giving it comfort and security.  The child knows no safer place.

    Yet God tells us that this loving mother will forget her child before He forgets you.  What a promise for us!  God will not and does not forget you.  He knew you before you were even formed and he will know you long after everyone else has forgot you; God never will.

    I know that there are times when we think God has forgotten us.  Maybe lying on a hospital bed, wide awake at three in the morning, hearing the noise in the halls, the noise of the machines and even the noise of your own breathing; causes you to wonder, “Has God forgotten me?”  Maybe you sit day after day in your apartment or home and no one ever visits you anymore, “Has God forgotten you?”  Maybe family relationships, job related relationships, business relationships or any other type seems to be breaking down and you wonder if God has forgotten you.

    God has not forgotten you.  He may be using these events to show you the truth.  We often see God’s grace the easiest when we recognize that we are completely helpless and the only true source of hope and comfort comes from the Savior’s arms.  Trust in God’s love for you and then enjoy the safety of his loving arms.

Dearest Father, you are our hope and security.  In you alone, we have true peace and comfort.  Keep us safe in your arms that we may ever rest in your Name.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret