YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of  My  hands; Your walls are continually before Me. Your sons shall make haste; Your destroyers and those who laid you waste Shall go away from you. Lift up your eyes, look around and see; All these gather together and come to you. As I live,” says the Lord , “You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament, And bind them on  you as a bride does. Isaiah 49:15‭-‬18 NKJV

I think most of us struggle at times as to whether we are important to God or not. If you are like me, we sometimes wonder if our lives are of any value to God and have any meaning on this earth. The enemy deposits thoughts in our head that challenge us to whether we are worthy or not. 

We all feel at times that we have been forgotten and perhaps even not loved. That is a lie from the pit of hell that needs to be squashed and put away from your thougths.

Isaiah uses four word metaphors in this passage to show us how much God loves us and how He has NOT forgotten us.

1. GOD IS LIKE A MOTHER

First of all, as we have seen, God is like a mother. Verse 15 asks, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion on the son of her womb?” 

While it is not probable, it is possible. “Even these may forget,” God says, “but I will not forget you.”

You’ve heard of self-defining moments, I’m sure. A self-defining moment occurs when something happens that determines your identity from that instant forward. Because of some event or incident, whatever it may be, you will never be the same again.

I had such an experience when each of my daughters were born.  Holding them for the first time was life-changing.  And then it happened again when I held each of my grandchildren.

Has my love for them ever failed? Not in intention, it hasn’t, but I have to confess that at times I have been preoccupied with myself, and I have failed to show them the love I have for them.

But now, consider God. He has for each of us -- for you, for me -- a place in his heart that belongs to no other. Will his love for you ever fail? No. It cannot happen. It will not happen. Our own parents may fail us at times, but God never will. He is like the mother who never forgets.

2. GOD IS LIKE AN OBSESSED LOVER

God is also like an obsessed lover. Let me tell you what I mean by that. I have known people so captivated by romance that they have had the name of their beloved tattooed on their body. 

I know of many who have tattoted the name of someone they love onto their body only to realize sometime later that they are in love with someone else.

All this talk of tattoos may seem strangely out of place, but actually, it isn’t. In verse 16 of our text from Isaiah, the Lord says, “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.” In other words, God has tattooed your name on his hands. He could never forget you!

Not that he would want to, but even if he did, how could he. Your name would be constantly before his eyes. Who does things like this? An obsessed -- if not too prudent -- lover, for one. And God. God does things like this. He wants you to know that you can trust him. He will never forget you. He will never forsake you.

3. GOD IS LIKE A WATCHMAN

And he will ever watch over you. Look at the latter part of verse 16. “Your walls are continually before me,” God says. He is like a night watchman who never takes a break.

When I was young my grandfather and grandmother volunteered at Angeles Temple in their prayer room.  They would go down in the middle of the night to receive phone calls from people who needed a miracle or needed someone to talk to.

In a sense, they were like a spiritual night watchman as they made themselves available to stand guard in prayer over the many needs that came their way.

God says that’s how he is. As He watches over your life - He announces, “Your destroyers and those who laid you waste Shall go away from you.” As a result - you can sleep securely. God is watching over you.

4. GOD IS LIKE JEWELER

A mother’s love, a lover’s obsession, a night watchman’s attentive eye -- are these give expression to God’s interest in you. A final word picture that Isaiah uses here is that of a jeweler. Let me show you what I mean.

The historical setting for these words out of Isaiah is worth mentioning. The nation of Judah had suffered conquest at the hands of the Babylonians. In fact, the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem, leveled the temple, and carried every able-bodied person into captivity. It was an awful time, and you can understand how the people might have thought God had forgotten them.

But now, God says to Judah, all your exiles are coming home. “Lift up your eyes all around and see; they all gather, they come to you.” And then this: “As I live, says the Lord” -- he’s banking his life on it -- “you shall put all of them on like an ornament, and like a bride you shall bind them on.”

Judah’s exiled people would be restored to her like so many dazzling diamonds and other precious stones. Like a jeweler, God would awe his people with the beauty of the final outcome.

We, too, have the assurance that God will place before us in splendid array his many, many blessings. And they shall adorn our lives like ornaments.

So, why wouldn’t you put your trust in a God like this? Mothers may forget -- they’re human, too. Lovers may be mistaken. Watchmen may look away. Jewels may no longer allure. But God will never forget. He will never leave you. He will never look away. And he will always bring beauty and joy to your heart. That’s the way he is, and that’s why we should place our trust in him.

You can count on this - GOD WILL NEVER FORGET YOU!