Presence Filled Fridays

We are introducing "Presence Filled Fridays" today and I am so excited to talk about Emmanuel, God with us! 

Have you ever felt like the Lord may have forgotten you? I hope that you will read this post today filled with God's Word and encouragement and learn to trust His Presence!

Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains!

For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on His afflicted ones.

But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands... Isaiah 49: 13 - 16

Shout! Rejoice! Burst into song! Why? Because we have a God who COMFORTS us. That word comfort means to breath forcibly, console, or have mercy. Our God intentionally and powerfully breathes His sweet breath of grace and mercy on us in a way that we feel it. We recognize it. We are enveloped by it.  


And the Lord has compassion (deep love, tender mercy) for HIS afflicted ones. He knows when we are depressed -- in our mind or in our circumstances. And He longs to express His deep love and tender mercy toward us if we will receive it.


But we are sometimes like Zion (Jerusalem) and say, "I feel like You have left me all alone, God.  Are You oblivious of me? Are You even aware that I exist? You seem to be blind and deaf to me and my circumstances. Have You forgotten me?"


I have been in that place. I have felt like I was no longer on the Lord's radar.  That somehow I was no longer of concern to Him. I was totally engrossed in my own situation and felt alone and abandoned. How could God forget me?


It is difficult for us to imagine a mother forgetting her child. Even more so, a mother who is nursing will be reminded by her own flesh that she has another life in need of her. But in the darkest of situations, unfortunately, it can be possible for a mother to neglect the baby at her breast. But our God will NEVER, NO NOT EVER  forget us. It is impossible for Him to forget you, friend. It is against His very nature. He is in covenant with us and He will never leave us or forsake us. Rest in the promise of His presence even when you don't feel it. Even when we don't feel that breath of comfort and tender mercy. Trust Him. Trust His Word. 


God has engraved and inscribed our individual names, our very lives on the palms of His hands. When those nails punctured our Savior's hands on the cross of Calvary, our lives were literally "cut into" his gentle, caring palms. He cannot forget us. He is our God. And we are His people. 


So what about you? Have you felt forgotten? Overwhelmed or depressed by your circumstances? Let the God of Comfort remind you that He has you etched in the palm of His hand. Rejoice knowing that He is there to comfort you, to love you deeply, to soothe you, to have mercy on you. Trust His Presence. 


Where are you today? Feeling abandoned by Him? Or maybe today you are very aware of His presence.  Please share and comment below...I would love to hear from you and pray for you. If you are reading by email, please click here to comment.


Unwrap the gift of His loving Presence today,
It is yours to unwrap!


Kelli

Linking with Soli Deo Gloria...