Focus

Prepare yourself to discern what is and what is not of God today. Still yourself so you can hear how God is calling you.

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Read

Isaiah 49:13-23 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people,
and will have compassion on his suffering ones.

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

Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.

See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.

Your builders outdo your destroyers,
and those who laid you waste go away from you.

Lift up your eyes all around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
As I live, says the Lord,
you shall put all of them on like an ornament,
and like a bride you shall bind them on.

Surely your waste and your desolate places
and your devastated land—
surely now you will be too crowded for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

The children born in the time of your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing:
“The place is too crowded for me;
make room for me to settle.”

Then you will say in your heart,
“Who has borne me these?
I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away—
so who has reared these?
I was left all alone—
where then have these come from?”

Thus says the Lord God:
I will soon lift up my hand to the nations,
and raise my signal to the peoples;
and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.

Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.

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Reflect

As I am getting older, I feel as if I am becoming more forgetful. There is so much going on in my mind that I just cannot simply keep up with it all. I hate to admit it, but there are times where I have forgotten people. I forget to call, text or email them. I forget to send them a card. I forget that I have an appointment with them. Obviously, this is a common problem for humans, because technology caters to those needs…. smart phones.

In this scripture, the Israelites were concerned that God had forgotten them, because they had been sinful. But God had reminded them that they were inscribed in the palms of God’s hands.
In the midst of our pain, we often feel as if God has forgotten us. We cannot explain what is happening in our lives or why things have happened the way they do, and we feel hopeless. We feel as if we are alone and have been abandoned, but the truth is God always remembers us. God has made a covenant with us to never leave us nor forsake us through the blood of Jesus Christ! We are God’s and God is ours!

God doesn’t need a smart phone to remember us! We are inscribed into the palms of God’s hands! Yes, my Brothers and Sisters, that is how much God truly loves us! You can have that blessed assurance in every storm of life as well as every joy of life!

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Pray

“Beautiful God, how we are so thankful for your ever-present presence in our lives! You are amazing! Please help us to remember that we are inscribed into the palms of Your hands and you will never forget us! What a great comfort it is, oh Lord, to know these promises! We love You, Lord! In Jesus name, Amen.”

Go with God!