As I read through Isaiah 49, this passage stood out to me so clearly, and I wanted to share it with you.

There are so many circumstances in which we can be compared to Israel. Just like they say, my Lord has forgotten me, we say and think this too. We often think that God has forgotten us when in truth He is always with us, paying attention to us, speaking with us and loving us.

Isaiah 49:13-16

¹³ Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
    break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people
    and will have compassion on his afflicted.

¹⁴ But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me;
    my Lord has forgotten me.”

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.

¹⁶ Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are continually before me.

Isaiah puts it so beautifully. The comparison of a woman forgetting her nursing baby. Most mothers could never forget about that nursing baby who depends on her so much for every need he has. And the passage points out that even a mother who is unlikely to forget may still forget, but God will not forget his children. He is so much more than a loving, caring mother.  

He says we are engraved into the palms of his hands, how can we ever think that he has forgotten us?

Deuteronomy 31:5-6

⁵ And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31 tells Israel that if they live by his commandments, they did not have to be afraid, for God goes with them and shall not leave or forsake them. It is the same for us. Once we are his children, he will not leave or forsake us. And even when we make mistakes and fail, he is there to forgive us and lovingly pick us up. He will not leave us.  

Psalm 94

When I thought, “My foot slips,”
    your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
¹⁹ When the cares of my heart are many,
    your consolations cheer my soul.
²⁰ Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
    those who frame^[b] injustice by statute?
²¹ They band together against the life of the righteous
    and condemn the innocent to death.^[c]
22 But the Lord has become my stronghold,
    and my God the rock of my refuge.
²³ He will bring back on them their iniquity
    and wipe them out for their wickedness;
    the Lord our God will wipe them out.

Psalm 94 reminds us of exactly what we think so many times. When we think we are slipping and falling, God is there to hold us up. When we have many concerns, He is there to console us. The Lord is our stronghold and the rock of our refuge. He will never forget us.