"But Zion said, 'The LORD has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.' Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me." (Isaiah 49:14-16)I've often marveled at the fact that, after Jesus rose from the grave, He still bore the wounds in His side and in His hands. When the power of God came to raise Jesus from the dead, it restored Him completely to His former glory, except for the wounds He received in his hands and side during His crucifixion. Why was He healed except for these scars? It wasn't until I read this scripture that I understood, "Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands." For the rest of eternity, Jesus will bear on His palms the inscription of those He loved and those for whom He died to save.
I am sadened when I think of how easy it is for me to forget God. How I can go all day long, oblivious to God's presence, and not spend any time thinking on Him or talking to Him. Speaking of His people, God remarks, "Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number." (Jeremiah 2:32) Yet, while we often forget God, He never forgets us! God may be far from our minds, but we are never far from the mind of God, we are forever in His thoughts.
God is always with us, He is forever on our side. Paul wrote to Timothy to encourage him, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." (2 Timothy 2:13) Even when we are faithless towards God, God remains faithful towards us. What great comfort it is to know that our heavenly Father is always watching over us, that He always has our best interests in mind, and we are in His thoughs always, even till eternity. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)
David Robison
God has really been dealing with me lately about staying in His presence (along with many other things). I think it is easy for Americans especially to forget about God. We are bombarded by images and entertainment all day long, and what is 10 minutes of quiet prayer as compared to the latest sitcom, or ball-game, or movie. I think our biggest failing is not delighting in God's presence throughout the day. I don't think we can just decide to delight in His presence either, all we can do is decide to spend time with Him and He will bring that delight into our lives.
ReplyDeleteDarryn (www.darrynglass.com)