Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2020 16:38:39 GMT -5
Irrational Fears By: Anne Cetas
Click on this link for the audio message
I will not forget you!
Isaiah 49:15
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 49:14–19
It makes no logical sense, but when my parents died within a three-month period, I feared they would forget me. Of course they were no longer on earth, but that left me with a large uncertainty. I was a young, unmarried adult and wondered how to navigate life without them. Feeling really single and alone, I sought God.
One morning I told Him about my irrational fear and the sadness it brought (even though He knew it already). The Scripture passage that came from the devotional I read that day was Isaiah 49: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast . . . ? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” (v. 15). God reassured His people through Isaiah that He had not forgotten them and later promised to restore them to Himself through sending His Son Jesus. But the words ministered to my heart too. It’s rare for a mother or a father to forget their child, yet it’s possible. But God? No way. “I have engraved you on the palms of my hands,” He said.
God’s answer to me could have brought more fear. But the peace He gave because of His own remembrance of me was exactly what I needed. It was the start of discovering that God is even closer than a parent or anyone else, and He knows the way to help us with everything—even our irrational fears.
Reflect & Pray
What fears do you face? How might you seek God’s help to address them?
Father, my emotions and fears can be overwhelming and controlling. Thank You for being kind by helping me with them.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The prophet Isaiah’s name means “Salvation is of the Lord,” which summarizes his emphasis in the book on prophecies about Christ. Isaiah also portrays God as the God of comfort. We see this theme particularly throughout the later chapters of Isaiah (chs. 40-66). In today’s passage (49:14-19), we see God’s assurance that He won’t forget or abandon His people (Israel and the church). In 43:1-2, God says He walks with us through our trials and gives us this assurance: “I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” In 44:21-24, God declares, “I will not forget you” and reminds us He “formed [us] in the womb.” In 46:4, He promises, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you.” And finally, in 66:13, He assures us, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” Alyson Kieda
Isaiah 49:14-19
King James Version
14 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.
18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
Click on this link for the audio message
I will not forget you!
Isaiah 49:15
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 49:14–19
It makes no logical sense, but when my parents died within a three-month period, I feared they would forget me. Of course they were no longer on earth, but that left me with a large uncertainty. I was a young, unmarried adult and wondered how to navigate life without them. Feeling really single and alone, I sought God.
One morning I told Him about my irrational fear and the sadness it brought (even though He knew it already). The Scripture passage that came from the devotional I read that day was Isaiah 49: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast . . . ? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” (v. 15). God reassured His people through Isaiah that He had not forgotten them and later promised to restore them to Himself through sending His Son Jesus. But the words ministered to my heart too. It’s rare for a mother or a father to forget their child, yet it’s possible. But God? No way. “I have engraved you on the palms of my hands,” He said.
God’s answer to me could have brought more fear. But the peace He gave because of His own remembrance of me was exactly what I needed. It was the start of discovering that God is even closer than a parent or anyone else, and He knows the way to help us with everything—even our irrational fears.
Reflect & Pray
What fears do you face? How might you seek God’s help to address them?
Father, my emotions and fears can be overwhelming and controlling. Thank You for being kind by helping me with them.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The prophet Isaiah’s name means “Salvation is of the Lord,” which summarizes his emphasis in the book on prophecies about Christ. Isaiah also portrays God as the God of comfort. We see this theme particularly throughout the later chapters of Isaiah (chs. 40-66). In today’s passage (49:14-19), we see God’s assurance that He won’t forget or abandon His people (Israel and the church). In 43:1-2, God says He walks with us through our trials and gives us this assurance: “I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” In 44:21-24, God declares, “I will not forget you” and reminds us He “formed [us] in the womb.” In 46:4, He promises, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you.” And finally, in 66:13, He assures us, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” Alyson Kieda
Isaiah 49:14-19
King James Version
14 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.
18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.