God Has Not Forgotten You
Isaiah 49:8-26
This book says that because of Jesus’ death on the Cross, if we are trusting Him, then God promises to do amazing things for us.
God promises to rejoice over us to do us good.
God promises to be abundant in loving-kindness to us.
God promises to keep us from harm.
God promises that His love for us will never stop.
But if that’s true, then what about those times when everything is going wrong; when everything is moving from bad to worse; when we can’t see anything good coming to us?
At times like that it’s easy to think God has forgotten us. That he has forsaken us.
This last week I read something written by Joni Eareckson, who as a teenager had dove into a lake, hit her head on the bottom, and broken her neck, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down. And she wrote about the terrible despair she felt in the next months, and about one season when for almost three weeks she had to lie face down in what’s called a Stryker frame – for three weeks -- staring at the floor. And if that was not bad enough, one week into that period she came down with a severe flu, and found that not being able to move was peanuts compared to not being able to breathe.
Can you feel how easy it would be for Joni to think God had forgotten her? And I would guess that some of you right now wonder if maybe God has forgotten you.
So what’s going on at those times? Has God forgotten us? And if he has not forgotten us – then what is He doing?
To answer that, let’s turn to Isaiah 49. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Isaiah 49 is on page 610 in the Bibles we are passing out. Last week we studied Isaiah 49:1-7; this morning we’re going to finish the chapter, studying vv.8-26.
Isaiah 49 is about a time when Israel felt that God had forgotten her, that God had forsaken her; and in these verses we will see what God says to her to comfort and encourage her.
In vv.8-13 we see what God had promised Israel. In these verses God is talking to His Servant, the Messiah, telling Him what He, God the Father, will do for Israel through Him. And as I read these verses I saw three main promises that God is making to Israel.
First, in the beginning of v.8 – God promises a new covenant in the Messiah –
Thus says the LORD: "In a time of favor I [God the Father] have answered you [the Messiah, God the Son]; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people …
God will give the Messiah as a covenant to the people. The Old Covenant had a problem; it did not come with heart-changing power. So for the most part Israel’s hearts remained in sin. But through Jesus’ death and resurrection God would inaugurate a new covenant which included heart-changing power – so Israel and Gentiles would have their hearts changed, be freed from the guilt and power of sin, and come into the joy of knowing God through Jesus.
Second, at the end of v.8 through v.11: God promises to restore Israel to the Promised Land --
8 … to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages,
9 saying to the prisoners, 'Come out,' to those who are in darkness, 'Appear.' They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
10 they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.
11 And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up.
Israel has been conquered and taken as slaves to Babylon. But here God promises to bring Israel back to the Promised Land – and provide all she needs on the way.
Then third, in v.12 – God promises that through the Messiah God will bring people to Himself from every nation. Here God is speaking of something more than just gathering Israel from Babylon. He seems to be talking about all those saved through the Messiah, both Jew and Gentile, from the entire earth – look at v.12 --
12 Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene [south – in Egypt]."
These are astonishing promises. Since Genesis 3, sin had filled the earth. And even when God chose one nation, Israel, and poured His favor out upon her to show the whole world who God was – she herself had a heart that didn’t want Him. So God had her be conquered and enslaved in Babylon as punishment. So things look bleak for planet earth.
But here God promises to transform planet earth. God will create a new covenant in the Messiah which will change people’s hearts in every ethnic group so they turn to God; God will bring Israel back from Babylon to the Promised Land; and through the Messiah God will bring people to Himself from every nation.
And in v.13 Isaiah stops writing about God’s promises and bursts out with joy over these promises --
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.
But even though Isaiah was rejoicing, Israel was not rejoicing. Why not? Why was Israel not rejoicing? Look at v.14 --
14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me."
Israel was not rejoicing because she thought God had forsaken and forgotten her. Why? Because Israel was still enslaved in Babylon. Year after year after year Israel experienced the cruelties of being slaves to Babylon.
Israel’s thinking went something like this: God says he is good and loving and merciful and compassionate. Maybe. But He must have forgotten me, because I’m experiencing the suffering of being enslaved in a strange land far away from my home. God must have forgotten me; God must have forsaken me.
That’s what Joni Eareckson struggled with during those weeks as she was face-down in the Stryker frame. And that’s what all of us can struggle with during those times when we experience pain and suffering and heartbreak .You have applied for jobs and interviewed for jobs and prayed for jobs; but no job. Or you are in pain and suffering from medical problems that just don’t go away. Or you have prayed for your wayward child month after month, year after year; but no change.
So you could easily think: “Maybe the Lord is taking care of other people; but He’s forsaken me; He’s forgotten me.” That’s what Israel was thinking. So – has God forgotten Israel? Look at what God says – start reading in v.14 –
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.
Has God forgotten Israel? God’s answer is a passionate “No!” And to say this, God brings up one of the closest human relations, that between a mother and her nursing child. Can a mother forget her nursing child? We would all say “no.”
But God knows that in this sinful world even that is possible. And yet God says – even if that’s possible, I will never forget you. Underline those five words at the end of v.15: “I will not forget you.” God will never forget you.
Are you enslaved in Babylon? I have not forgotten you. Are you in a Stryker frame for almost three weeks? I have not forgotten you. Are you still without a job, or with a wayward child, or struggling with health issues? I have not forgotten you.
Then in v.16 God gives an astonishing picture of how He will never forget them or us --
16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.
Here God says that He has engraved His people on the palms of His hands. Today after the coming of Jesus, that would mean everyone who is trusting Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord, and Treasure. Each of us is engraved on the palms of His hands. You are engraved on the palms of His hands.
And the point of that is seen in the next line – “your walls are continually before me.” Jerusalem’s walls had been broken down, knocked over, destroyed. So God is saying that He is constantly aware of Israel and her needs and problems. Which means that God is constantly aware of your needs and problems.
Don’t think that because there are so many followers of Jesus, God has a hard time keeping up with everyone. Not at all. God is infinite. God is always giving you his complete, undivided attention. God is constantly thinking about you and your needs and problems.
But not just thinking about you. Notice that word “compassion” in v.15. So you are not just information to Him. No, He is constantly looking upon your needs and problems with compassion, and love, and care.
So let’s say you are over here – struggling with unemployment or health issues or a wayward child – and over here you see other believers with work and health and responsive children. We could easily think what’s going on is that God is remembering these people over here, but that He has forgotten about you. But that’s not the case.
He is remembering them. But He is also remembering you. He is right here, focused on you with compassion, love, and care.
But what is God doing while He’s is focused on me with compassion, love, and care? What’s He doing as He compassionately looks at Israel’s slavery in Babylon and broken-down walls? What’s He doing as He compassionately looks at your unemployment or sickness or trials? God does not answer that here in Isaiah 49 – but He does in many other passages. There’s at least four things God is doing right now as He is looking upon you with compassion and love.
First, He is weeping with us. In John 11:35 we read that Jesus wept over the death of Lazarus and the bereavement of Mary and Martha. He wept, even though He knew He would raise Lazarus from the dead. He wept because He felt Mary and Martha’s weeping.
When we go through pain and suffering He does not call us to keep a stiff upper lip. Quite the contrary. The book of psalms is full of laments – ways that follower of Jesus can express deep sorrow and loss and pain as we go through trials. So when you suffer, not only has God not forgotten you, He is weeping with you.
Second, He is ready to comfort and satisfy us with His presence. In Psalm 34:18 we read that God is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. So when you are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit – God is near. He is right there, looking upon you with compassion and love, ready to comfort you and strengthen you and satisfy you with His presence.
Third, He is enlarging your soul’s capacity for joy in Him forever. In 2 Cor 4:14-16 Paul says that momentary, light afflictions are producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. Which means that every trial is lovingly designed by God to give us even more joy in Him forever.
Often we wonder what is the good that God will bring out of our trials. This is the supreme good that is always part of God’s plan – to enlarge your soul’s capacity for joy in God. As you weep before Jesus, as you cry out to Jesus to comfort and strengthen you, as you fight to keep trusting Jesus, your soul’s capacity for joy in God enlarges. So when you suffer, God has not forgotten you, He is right there, enlarging your soul’s capacity for joy in Him forever.
Fourth, He is perfectly timing your deliverance. Psalm 31:15 says that our times are in God’s hands. Every second of our lives is perfectly timed by God. And as God looks upon you with compassion and love, He is perfectly timing the moment of your deliverance. Deliverance will come, at exactly the right time -- the time that will bring you the greatest joy in Him forever.
So that’s what God is doing – now what should we do? What does God urge Israel – and us -- to do? Back to Isaiah 49. In vv.17 to the end of the chapter, God urges Israel, and us, to do two things.
First, set our hearts on His promises. In vv.17 - 26 God describes how Israel’s walls will one day be rebuilt, her destroyers will flee, and her people will be restored to the Promised Land and greatly multiplied. God calls Israel to set her heart on His promises.
And that’s what we should do as well. Open up God’s Word, and set your heart on His promises. He will strengthen you (Isa 41:10). In His perfect time He will heal you (Psa 103:3). He will provide for you (Mat 6:33). He will deliver you (Psa 50:15). He will satisfy you in Himself (John 6:35). So set your heart on God’s promises.
And second, wait for Him. Look at the end of v.23 – “those who wait for me will not be put to shame.” Waiting for God means expectantly looking to Him to fulfill His promises. No matter how bleak things look now. No matter how hopeless things seem now. He will fulfill all His promises. Those who wait for Him will not be put to shame.
Listen to what Joni Eareckson says – who has been in a wheelchair suffering with the pains and inconveniences of paralysis for years and years:
“One day I’m going to leave this wheelchair behind. I cannot wait. I may have tasted the pains of living on this planet, but one day I’m going to eat from the tree of life in the pleasure of heaven.
“Then in my new, glorified body, standing on grateful, glorified legs, I’ll stand next to my Savior, holding his nail-pierced hands.
“I’ll say “Thank you, Jesus. That wheelchair was a lot of trouble. But the weaker I was in that thing, the harder I leaned on you. And the harder I leaned on you, the stronger I discovered you to be. It never would have happened had you not given me the bruising of the blessing of that wheelchair.” (Adapted from Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, pp.202f)
God has not forgotten Joni Eareckson. She always has His full attention. He is always conscious of her, weeping with her weeping, comforting her with His presence, enlarging her soul’s capacity for joy in him, and perfectly timing the moment of her deliverance. God has not forgotten her.
And God has not forgotten you. You always have His full attention. He is always conscious of you, weeping with your weeping, comforting you with His presence, enlarging your soul’s capacity for joy in Him, and perfectly timing the moment of your deliverance. God has not forgotten you.
So trust His promises. And wait on Him. You will not be ashamed.