I will not forget you! Isaiah 49:15
A man owned more than $400 million in bitcoin, but he couldn’t access a cent of it. He lost the password for the device storing his funds, and disaster loomed: after ten password attempts, the device would self-destruct. A fortune lost forever. For a decade, the man had agonized, desperately trying to recall the password to his life-altering investment. He tried eight passwords and failed eight times. In 2021, he lamented that he had just two more chances before it all went up in smoke.
We’re a forgetful people. Sometimes we forget small things (where we placed our keys), and sometimes we forget massive things (a password that unlocks millions). Thankfully, God isn’t like us. He never forgets the things or people that are dear to Him. In times of distress, Israel feared that God had forgotten them. “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me” (Isaiah 49:14). Isaiah assured them, however, that their God always remembers. “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast?” the prophet asks. Of course, a mother will not forget her suckling child. Still, even if a mother were to commit such an absurdity, we know God will never forget us (v. 15).
“See,” God says, “I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (v. 16). He’s etched our names into His own being. Let’s remember that He can’t forget us—the ones He loves.
When have you forgotten something important? How does God’s strong memory assure you?
Dear God, I’m grateful Your memory is resilient and trustworthy.
INSIGHT
God’s people had been unfaithful and had stubbornly refused to repent and return to God (Isaiah 43:22–24). He used the Assyrian and Babylonian armies to chastise them (10:3–6; 39:6–7). Despite the severe discipline, God assured them that they were still His chosen people: “I have summoned you by name; you are mine” (43:1). He’d also restore them to Himself and bring them back to the promised land (49:8–13). Although He’d promised their restoration, the disillusioned Israelites charged that He’d abandoned them (v. 14). Responding to their despondency, God declared that His love for them is far deeper than a nursing mother has for her baby. Even if such maternal love failed, God said His love would never fail: “I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (vv. 15–16). It’s impossible for Him to forget His people.