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Never Forgotten
Our Daily Bread
“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
49:15 New International Version (NIV)
The book of Isaiah is one of
the Major Prophets of the Old Testament, categorized as such because of its
length.
It’s sometimes referred to as
a “miniature Bible” because it has sixty-six chapters divided into two major
divisions of thirty-nine and twenty-seven chapters.
The Bible contains sixty-six
books and is divided into the Old Testament with thirty-nine books and the New
Testament with twenty-seven books.
Isaiah is the Old Testament
book referenced most often in the New Testament, apart from the Psalms. By: Arthur Jackson
Egged on by my children to
prove I’d endured years mastering the basics of piano, I sat down and started
playing the C Major scale.
Having played very little
piano in nearly two decades, I was surprised I remembered!
Feeling brave, I proceeded to
play seven different scales by heart one right after the other. I was shocked!
Years of practicing had
imprinted the notes and technique so deeply in my fingers’ “memory” that they
instantly knew what to do.
There are some things that can
never be forgotten.
But God’s love for His
children is far more deeply imprinted than any of our fading memories — in
fact, God can’t forget them.
This is what the Israelites
needed to hear when the exile left them feeling abandoned by Him (Isaiah 49:14).
His response through Isaiah
was unequivocal: “I will not forget you!” (verse 15).
God’s promise to care for His
people was more certain than a mother’s love for her child.
To assure them of His
unchanging love, He gave them a picture of His commitment: “See, I have
engraved you on the palms of my hands” (verse 16).
It’s a beautiful image of
God’s constant awareness of His children; their names and faces always before
Him.
Still today, we can easily
feel overlooked and forgotten.
How comforting to remember
that we’re “etched” on God’s hands — always remembered, cared for, and loved by
our Father. By: Lisa M. Samra
Reflect & Pray
When have you felt forgotten or abandoned? In what ways has God always been present with you to remind you of His constant love?
When have you felt forgotten or abandoned? In what ways has God always been present with you to remind you of His constant love?
Jesus, thank You that I’m never
forgotten by You. When I feel abandoned by others, help me to remember and rest
in Your never-ending, constant love.
Bible in a Year: Zechariah 5–8, Revelation 19
https://dailydevotionalng.com/2019/12/27/our-daily-bread-28-december-2019-never-forgotten/
Isaiah 49:8-16 New International Version (NIV)
Isaiah 49:8-16 New International Version (NIV)
Restoration
of Israel
8 This is what the Lord says:
“In the time of
my favor I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
9 to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’
and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’
and in the day of salvation I will help you;
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
9 to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’
and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’
“They will feed
beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.
He who has compassion on them will guide them
and lead them beside springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highways will be raised up.
12 See, they will come from afar—
some from the north, some from the west,
some from the region of Aswan.[a]”
and find pasture on every barren hill.
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.
He who has compassion on them will guide them
and lead them beside springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highways will be raised up.
12 See, they will come from afar—
some from the north, some from the west,
some from the region of Aswan.[a]”
13 Shout for joy, you heavens;
rejoice, you earth;
burst into song, you mountains!
For the Lord comforts his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
rejoice, you earth;
burst into song, you mountains!
For the Lord comforts his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has
forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me.”
the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “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!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.
Footnotes:
a.
Isaiah 49:12 Dead
Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim
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