We are Not Forgotten

"For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. 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!"
Isaiah 49:13b-15

We are the people of Zion. God has compassion on us when we are afflicted, but we sometimes don't believe him. There are times when we find ourselves in lonely places. It may seem that everyone, including God, have forsaken us. But the truth of the Word is this: God does not forsake us. In fact, he promises that he will never leave us nor forsake us. If this is true, then why do we sometimes feel so alone?
    Though we know that he will never forsake us, we sometimes feel like he has forgotten us. We are in good company when we feel this way, for King David often asked God if he had forgotten about him. When we go through difficult things, we may cry out saying, "God, where are you? Have you forgotten about me?" The glorious truth is that he has not forgotten because he never forgets. God has made a covenant with us and he will never break his covenant.
    When the people of Zion said that God had forgotten them, he responded with an amazing picture. Through Isaiah, he delivers a word picture of a nursing mother and the child that is at her breast. Mothers will tell you that there is no other experience like the connection that is made with a nursing baby. As men, we will never understand this, but there is a closeness between mother and nursing child that deeply connects them. God shares this beautiful picture with the people to illustrate his love, compassion, and desire to be with them in a true intimate relationship. After sharing the picture, God said in effect: "As impossible as it seems that a mother would forget her nursing child; I tell you that even if she could, I can never forget you!" There is no relationship on earth that can parallel God's amazing love for us. He never forgets.
    If you find yourself in a place where it feels as if God has forgotten you, meditate on the scripture above. When you do, you will begin to feel the incredible desire God has for you. He not only will never forget you, he wants to be with you all the time. In the verse following our scripture, God says: "See, I have engraved you on the palm of my hands." God has tattoos! Our lives are imprinted on his hands and he looks at them every day, every moment, every second. So the next time you think that God has forgotten you, remember this: You are not forgotten, you are tattooed on the hand of God.