The text said, “Did you see Sarah in church yesterday?” It was good to know that someone cared about a person that is ‘invisible’ to many. As life kicks off a new week I wonder if you are feeling invisible, or small, or insignificant? As I grew older I started to take more note of those persons who are ‘left out’ because of physical problems, mental health issues, or even age. It’s been my privilege to live in the center of community, surrounded by people who look to me for care and who love me in return, but what of those who do not enjoy that kind of social status? My theology reminds me that in Christ’s Body, His Church, nobody is a throwaway person.
In the first book of the Bible we meet a person without status.
Her name is Hagar and she was a servant to Abraham’s wife, who was also a surrogate
mother for the childless Sarah. After Hagar bore a son, jealousy erupted and
she was shown the door of the tent. In
her desperate state, the angel of the Lord found her. After her encounter she said
this: “You are the God who sees me,”
for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13, NIV) What
a wonderful revelation, given to a woman who was, in her community, a nobody, of
no consequence, a throwaway person.
Friend, wherever you are, whatever your social status, I
hope that you know that God sees, God knows, God is ever-present.
The worst kind of ‘forgotten’ is that moment when because of disappointment or
failure, we are tempted to question the love of God. Isaiah preached sermons of
God’s pending judgment. He reminded the people of the Lord that they were about
to go through a terrible trial, that they had forsaken their God and would reap
the consequences of their faithlessness.
None the less, God would remember! "Why do you say, O Jacob, and
complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by
my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his
understanding no one can fathom." (Isaiah 40:27-28, NIV)
Let me remind us of these unchanging truths.
Our lives are bounded by beginnings and endings, birth and death, carried along in the inexorable current of time. Success comes and goes. Today’s hero is forgotten as time moves on. But, the God we trust is eternal. He is without start or stop, unrestrained by time as we experience it. He is the God who sees. You are always in His care.
Perhaps you have become fatigued, just flat out exhausted by
life – feeling like an tiny cog in the vast machine of society. That feeling of futility is often accompanied
by a soul weariness and morphs into fearfulness about our ability to cope and
doubts about our personal worth. When that is our mindset, everything looks
more difficult, each situation turns into a mountain of impossibility when we are
at the end of our physical, emotional, or mental strength! God see you and knows your need. Reach out, even if it just a whisper of a
prayer, “Jesus help me.” He does not tire
of us, nor does He turn from us. We can be confident in this.
Then, too, we all find ourselves wondering ‘why’ don’t we? When the apparent chaos of the world rises like floodwaters to overtake us, the effort to press ahead in life can make us feel alone, forgotten. God sees us even in the darkest storm. Jesus says “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26)
We are not forgotten by Him. Hang onto that today. Meditate on this passage, inviting the Spirit to make it living Word for you.
"Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be
discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up
with my victorious right hand. ...
I am the Lord, your Redeemer. I am the Holy One of
Israel.’ …
When the poor and needy search for water and there is
none,
and their tongues are parched from thirst,
then I, the Lord, will answer them. I, the God of
Israel, will never abandon them.
I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus.
I will give them fountains of water in the valleys.
I will fill the desert with pools of water.
Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched
ground.
I will plant trees in the barren desert— cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress,
fir, and pine.
I am doing this so all who see this miracle will understand what it means— that it is the Lord who has done this, the Holy One of Israel who created it." (Isaiah 41:10-20, NLT)
_______________
Not
Forgotten
(an upbeat song good for a Monday morning dance around the kitchen)
I am not forgotten I am not forgotten
I am not forgotten God knows my name
I am not forgotten I am not forgotten
I am not forgotten God knows my name
He knows my name
He knows my name
Light over darkness
Strength over weakness
Joy over sadness
He knows my name
He knows my name
Father to the fatherless
Friend to the friendless
Hope for the hopeless
He knows my name
He knows my name
And I will praise You Lord
I will praise You Lord
For I am fearfully and wonderf'lly made
(Ev’rybody say)
I am not forgotten never forsaken (7X)
He knows my name
He knows my name
Aaron Lindsey | Israel Houghton
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Sound Of The New Breed (Admin. by Integrity Music)
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