God Really Does Care!

When life's difficulties threaten to overwhelm us, it's easy to begin to doubt God's benevolent presence in our lives. This is what the people of Israel did. The prophet Isaiah points this out when he writes, "But Zion says, 'The LORD has forsaken me, the LORD has forgotten me!" (Isaiah 49:14) Is this possible? Is the fact that we go through tough times an indication that God has forgotten us? Absolutely not! Isaiah goes on to record God's response to Israel's lament. "Can the mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has born? Though she may forget, I will never forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands!" (Isaiah 49:15-16a)

Charles Spurgeon (19th century London pastor), in his devotional book, Morning by Morning, writes the following very insightful and powerful comments about the above:

"How amazed the divine mind seems to be at this wicked unbelief! What can be more astounding than the unfounded doubts and fears of God's favored people? The Lord's loving word of rebuke should make us blush. He cries, 'How can I have forgotten you, when I have engraved you on the palms of my hands? How dare you doubt my constant remembrance when the memorial is carved upon my own flesh.' O unbelief, what a strange marvel you are! We do not know what to wonder at most - the faithfulness of God or the unbelief of his people. He keeps his promise a thousand times, and yet the next trial makes us doubt Him . . . 'I have engraved you.' The Scripture does not say, 'your name.' The name is there, but that is not all: 'I have engraved YOU.' Consider the depth of this! 'I have engraved your person, your image, your circumstances, your sins, your temptations, your weaknesses, your wants, your works; I have engraved everything about you, all that concerns you; I have put all of this together here.' Will you ever say again that your God has forsaken you when he has engraved you on his own palms?'

WOW! That's truth that will set us free from all the worry and anxiety that will weigh us down!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj