Feeling Forgotten

Have you ever felt forgotten? Maybe your Mom or Dad forgot to pick you up from school one time; or your spouse forgot to call you when he was away on a business trip. Maybe you are going through something right now that makes you feel God has forgotten about you. You pray, you read your Bible, you go to church. But NOTHING. No response from Him.

In Psalm 13 David cries out “O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?“

Have you ever felt that way? I know I have. And if you haven’t, you will. Every follower of Christ will have struggles in their lives, and that’s when many of us will feel like God has forgotten us. But God NEVER forgets us. His plans are sometimes beyond our understanding, but they are always good. The struggles we endure make us stronger by drawing us closer to Him.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells his disciples: “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NLT).

At the end of Psalm 13, anticipating God to move on his behalf, David still has the faith to say: “But I TRUST in your UNFAILING LOVE. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the LORD because He is GOOD to me.” (Psalm 13:5, 6 NLT)

Perry Noble, pastor of NewSpring Church told a story of a time when he thought his wife and friends forgot his birthday, only to find out they were planning a wonderful surprise party for him! No telling what God has in store for us on the other side of whatever it is we’re going through right now, but take courage in the fact that He is with you…ALWAYS!!

Logical Fear

​I have always struggled with the concept of fearing God. Why should I fear someone who loves me unconditionally? Until recently, I classified it as an Old Testament concept, like the law. We have Jesus so we no longer have to fear God, right?

​But the more I read my Bible, the more I realize my thinking was wrong. It seems contradictory to both love and fear someone, but the Creator of the Universe is no regular someone. God knows all and sees all, all of the time. He has always been and always will be. His thoughts are not our thoughts, and we will never comprehend him completely.

​Fire is a good example of something we need but should have a healthy fear and respect for. Is it a coincidence that God is referred to as a “devouring fire” by the writer of Hebrews? Remember the burning bush? A healthy fear of God is necessary for a healthy relationship with Him. If we fear and respect His ultimate power in our lives He will give us hope, and a faith that is stronger than we can imagine.

The Enthusiasm of a Child

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, our family goes to the same little place every year to get a “real, live” Christmas tree. We bring it home and decorate it that evening. Our kids are 6 and 8 this year so my wife and I are trying to make sure they understand the true meaning of Christmas. This is no easy task with the commercialism they see everywhere, especially all of the Christmas specials on TV.

I mentioned wanting to read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke to them sometime this season. The next morning Sarah, my six year old comes downstairs carrying my bible ready to read. We started in Luke chapter 1. I would read a paragraph, and then she would read one. In first grade she is learning about punctuation: periods, commas, quotation marks, and exclamation points. She is supposed to read it the way it would really sound.

She was reading when we got to verse 28:

Gabriel appeared to her [Mary] and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28).

She reads this verse with so much enthusiasm it kind of takes me by surprise. She didn’t stop reading until we got to verse 56! She was so excited to hear how Mary found out she was going to be the mother of Jesus! I’ve read or heard this story so many times I had forgotten how amazing it is. Jesus tells us in Mark 10: “I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” (Mark 10:15 NLT)

I needed to be reminded that the real magic of Christmas is that God sent his son to earth through an innocent young girl to be born in a stable, live among regular people, die for our sins, and then rise again to rule the entire universe! Now that’s something to be excited about!!