Believer, do you ever feel forsaken, forgotten by God? You are not alone. Israel felt this way, as is recorded in Isa. 49:14. The great king David felt so, as he wrote in Psalm 22:1. Even our Lord experienced this feeling, as He quoted David while He hung on the cross for our salvation.
But Christian, God has not forgotten you. For “He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5). Men may turn their backs on you, friends may desert you, but God is not a man (Num. 23:19).
Even when David felt forsaken, and the Lord in quoting Him, what does Scripture tell us? “He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him for help, He heard” (Ps. 22:24).
As God told Israel when they believed themselves forsaken, He has written our names in His hands (Isa. 49:16). He can no more forget us than a nursing mother can forget the child on her teat (Isa. 49:15). Our adoptive Father would not be so callous as to not have compassion on those whom “He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:20).
While we may at times feel distant from God, He is never far off. It is usually a case of us having wandered. But if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us (Jas. 4:8).
Christian, take time today to draw near to God.
——————
Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions
Morning, November 7
"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands." Isaiah 49:16
No doubt a part of the wonder which is concentrated in the word "Behold", is excited by the unbelieving lamentation of the preceding sentence. Zion said, "The Lord hath forsaken me, and my God hath forgotten me." How amazed the divine mind seems to be at this wicked unbelief! What can be more astounding than the unfounded doubts and fears of God's favoured people? The Lord's loving word of rebuke should make us blush; He cries, "How can I have forgotten thee, when I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands? How darest thou doubt my constant remembrance, when the memorial is set upon my very flesh?" O unbelief, how strange a marvel thou art! We know not which most to wonder at, the faithfulness of God or the unbelief of His people. He keeps His promise a thousand times, and yet the next trial makes us doubt Him. He never faileth; He is never a dry well; He is never as a setting sun, a passing meteor, or a melting vapour; and yet we are as continually vexed with anxieties, molested with suspicions, and disturbed with fears, as if our God were the mirage of the desert. "Behold," is a word intended to excite admiration. Here, indeed, we have a theme for marvelling. Heaven and earth may well be astonished that rebels should obtain so great a nearness to the heart of infinite love as to be written upon the palms of His hands. "I have graven thee." It does not say, "Thy name." The name is there, but that is not all: "I have graven thee." See the fulness of this! I have graven thy person, thine image, thy case, thy circumstances, thy sins, thy temptations, thy weaknesses, thy wants, thy works; I have graven thee, everything about thee, all that concerns thee; I have put thee altogether there. Wilt thou ever say again that thy God hath forsaken thee when He has graven thee upon His own palms?
Believer, do you ever feel forsaken, forgotten by God? You are not alone. Israel felt this way, as is recorded in Isa. 49:14. The great king David felt so, as he wrote in Psalm 22:1. Even our Lord experienced this feeling, as He quoted David while He hung on the cross for our salvation.
But Christian, God has not forgotten you. For “He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5). Men may turn their backs on you, friends may desert you, but God is not a man (Num. 23:19).
Even when David felt forsaken, and the Lord in quoting Him, what does Scripture tell us? “He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him for help, He heard” (Ps. 22:24).
As God told Israel when they believed themselves forsaken, He has written our names in His hands (Isa. 49:16). He can no more forget us than a nursing mother can forget the child on her teat (Isa. 49:15). Our adoptive Father would not be so callous as to not have compassion on those whom “He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:20).
While we may at times feel distant from God, He is never far off. It is usually a case of us having wandered. But if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us (Jas. 4:8).
Christian, take time today to draw near to God.
——————
Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions
Morning, November 7
"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands." Isaiah 49:16
No doubt a part of the wonder which is concentrated in the word "Behold", is excited by the unbelieving lamentation of the preceding sentence. Zion said, "The Lord hath forsaken me, and my God hath forgotten me." How amazed the divine mind seems to be at this wicked unbelief! What can be more astounding than the unfounded doubts and fears of God's favoured people? The Lord's loving word of rebuke should make us blush; He cries, "How can I have forgotten thee, when I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands? How darest thou doubt my constant remembrance, when the memorial is set upon my very flesh?" O unbelief, how strange a marvel thou art! We know not which most to wonder at, the faithfulness of God or the unbelief of His people. He keeps His promise a thousand times, and yet the next trial makes us doubt Him. He never faileth; He is never a dry well; He is never as a setting sun, a passing meteor, or a melting vapour; and yet we are as continually vexed with anxieties, molested with suspicions, and disturbed with fears, as if our God were the mirage of the desert. "Behold," is a word intended to excite admiration. Here, indeed, we have a theme for marvelling. Heaven and earth may well be astonished that rebels should obtain so great a nearness to the heart of infinite love as to be written upon the palms of His hands. "I have graven thee." It does not say, "Thy name." The name is there, but that is not all: "I have graven thee." See the fulness of this! I have graven thy person, thine image, thy case, thy circumstances, thy sins, thy temptations, thy weaknesses, thy wants, thy works; I have graven thee, everything about thee, all that concerns thee; I have put thee altogether there. Wilt thou ever say again that thy God hath forsaken thee when He has graven thee upon His own palms?
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