God Will Not Forget You!

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”  “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget, I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me…”  Isaiah 49: 14-16, NIV

Dear Heavenly Father, we give You thanks, that even if earthly parents should forget us, You never will.  Thank You Father, Amen.

What a heart warming promise!  God will not, cannot, forget us.  How can He?  He went to the extent of engraving us upon the palms of His hands!  Praise the Lord!  If you are a parent you will understand why the idea of forgetting a child seems so far fetched.  A mother will forget to eat, or drink water, she will become so busy taking care of her baby that she will neglect to do things for herself, but her baby will always be taken care of.  The minute that baby girl, or baby boy, makes her, or his, entrance into the world, the mother automatically gives first place to that child.  That baby becomes her priority. 

That is why, when a mother abandons, or neglects, or abuses, her baby, it goes without saying, that something is drastically wrong!  It is not normal for a mother to harm  her child; far less, the child on her breast!  From the book The Christian Home, pg. 240, by E. G. White, comes the following statement “Next to God, the mother’s power for good is the strongest known on earth.”  We are also familiar with the statement that “the hand that rocks the cradle, is the hand that rules the world.”  What an influence is wielded by the mother!   I believe that is why Jesus chose the metaphor of a mother to illustrate how impossible it is for Him to forget us.  One version translates the phrase as:  “But even if that were possible,” (NLT), meaning it is almost impossible for a woman to forget.  But even if she does, yet I will not forget you!   Kind Savior!  Loving Lord!

Why?  Because I etched you on the palm of my hands, you have been engraved there forever!  “The Message” puts it this way:  “Look, I’ve written your names on the backs of my hands.” 

Mother sat rocking her little girl.  Ellen was now five years old.  “What ugly hands you have, mother!  What happened to them?”  Tears welled up in mother’s eyes, as she remembered that day five years ago.  Mother was preparing dinner, while her baby slept peacefully.  Suddenly she remembered that she needed something from the store.  She thought for a moment:  if I move swiftly, perhaps I can go to the store and return before Ellen awakens.  To her total dismay, the line at the store was longer than usual, and there was only one cashier working.  But soon she was back in the car and headed for home when she heard the sound of a siren.  Her heart skipped a beat.  As soon as she turned the corner her fears were confirmed.  In the very near distance she could see her apartment complex on fire.  The fire-fighters were already roping off the area.  She knew they would not listen to any reasoning, so she parked her car and ran straight through the crowd. 

One of the fire-fighters tried to stop her but she managed to evade him, and soon was in the burning building.  She could hardly see, but she knew her surroundings from memory.  She put the key in the door and turned.  The handle was very hot, and it was stuck, so she pulled and tugged with her bare hands until she was able to open the door.  She grabbed baby Ellen, wrapped her completely, and headed for the door.  The last thing she remembered was someone asking her if she was all right.  When she awakened, she was in the hospital being treated for second and third degree burns, and smoke inhalation; but Ellen was alive and well!   “That is what happened to my hands, Ellen.”  As she concluded the story, there were tears on little Ellen’s cheeks and on mother’s.  Little Ellen took mother’s hands in her little hands and kissed them:  “Mother, thank you so much.  These are the most beautiful hands in the world.”

Because of Calvary, nothing can remove us from before Him.  He carries upon His glorified body, the marks of our redemption.  We need not fear that we will be forgotten by our Maker.  We are a part of Him, forever!  And He has the most beautiful hands to prove it!