 I remember we were at a competition. Though we had put in a lot of effort, we were losing. So, I looked up and prayed. We still bombed. Did God care?
Isaiah 49:1-13 talks about many wonderful things coming—Salvation to the ends of the earth, land restored, captives freed, and hunger and thirst eliminated. Finally, even heavens and earth would rejoice. The chapter also talks about Israel would be brought back. But, Zion, representing Israel, with its temple destroyed, still felt forsaken. V14. Don’t we sometimes feel the same when things are not working out? The Bible has amazing promises. But when God doesn’t give us what we pray for, we feel deserted. And our faith withers, particularly if we are facing some daunting circumstances. When our temple is destroyed, we feel God forgetting us. V14. Responding to Israel’s despair, God didn’t say, “Just suck it up,” or “Poor child.” Instead, God asked whether a mother would forget her baby at her breast. V15. Tending to Israel’s emotion and intellect, God used the metaphor of a mother and her nursing baby, a relationship they could understand. It is difficult for mother to forget her nursing baby. Physically, stopping the nursing is painful because of Prolactin pushing milk out. Emotionally, stopping would rob the mother of her delight because bonding with her baby produces oxytocin. Then God added that even mothers might forget, but He wouldn’t. V15, Psalm27:10. Such affirming words are powerful. However, true love is shown by action. 1John3:18. So, God further emphasized His love with the act of engraving Israel on His palms. V16. In Hebrew, “engraved” means using hammer and chisel. Centuries later, addressing Thomas’ doubt, Christ showed him the wounds in His hands. John20:27. When children don’t get what they want, feeling neglected, they could scream. Sometimes, we are similar. We should know we don’t need many things. Our identity is not based on stuffs. We may be experiencing lots of suffering now, and God doesn’t listen to our prayer to take the pain away. Remember the cross shows that God will never forsake us. On the cross, Christ was forsaken, taking the punishments we deserve. The cross shows God’s unconditional love. We are engraved in His palms! Summarized from a Tim Keller sermon. https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/can-a-mother-forget-6041/ 如果祈祷以后什么都没发生，上帝还关心我们吗？ 以赛亚书49：1-13描绘了许多未來奇妙的事情 - 拯救临到地极，地土得恢复，被掳的得释放，饥渴不服再有。 甚至天地也一起欢呼快乐。 这章还论述以色列将如何归回。但是，代表以色列的锡安，仍然感到被离弃, 因圣殿还在被毁的废墟中（v14）。 当某些事不如意的时候, 我们有时的感受不是也一样吗？ 圣经里有许多奇妙的应许。可是如果上帝没有应允我们的祈求，我们就会感到被上帝抛弃, 信仰开始枯萎，特别是面对又大又难的境况之时。如果我们的圣殿被摧毁，我们也会感到被神忘记了 (v14）。 上帝没有说“接受它”或“可怜的孩子”来回应以色列的绝望。相反地，上帝反问以色列一位母亲是否会忘记她怀中吃奶的婴孩（v15）。 按照以色列的情感和智力，上帝采用了母亲和被乳婴孩的比喻，因这是一种他们能够理解的关系。 母亲很难忘记她在哺乳中的婴孩。从身体上讲，停止哺乳是痛苦的，因为催乳素会继续刺激生产母乳。从感情上讲，拥抱婴儿会产生催产素，停止哺乳会夺去母亲的喜悦。 然后，上帝还补充说，即使母亲也可能忘记，但是祂却不会忘记（v15，诗篇27：10）。 这种肯定的话语和其有力。然而，真正的爱是通过行动表现出来的（约翰壹书3：18）。因此上帝进而强调将以色列铭刻在祂手掌上（v16）。在希伯来语中，“铭刻”意味着使用钉锤和凿子来雕刻。 许多世纪以后，因为多马的怀疑，基督向他展示了自己手上的伤痕（约翰福音20：27）。 当孩子们没有得到他们想要的东西时，会感到被忽视而尖叫起来。有时我们不也很相似吗？我们应该提醒自己不需要很多东西。我们的身份不是基于拥有什么。 我们可能正在经历着许多苦难。上帝也不一定垂听我们的祈祷而除去它们. 但是，记住十字架意味着上帝永远不会离弃我们。在十字架上基督被离弃，担负了我们应得的刑罚. 十字架彰显了上帝无条件的爱，祂将我们烙印在祂的手掌上!
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