Bible Reading: Isaiah 49:13-16, 53:4
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; you are never out of my thoughts'.
Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.
A Reflection
For those who have lost a child, whether it’s through a miscarriage, a stillbirth, a cot death, or a tragedy later in life, the memories are always there. Life goes on and the memories slip in and out of focus, but the child is not forgotten. Photographs or keepsakes, if we have them, keep the memories alive, and days like Mothering Sunday, Father’s Day or special anniversaries will bring them flooding back.
Grief is the flip side of love. To avoid grieving you would need to avoid loving. But grief need not be carried alone. Jesus bore our griefs on the cross and there he carried our sorrows.
Are there griefs in your life, maybe recent, maybe distant losses that flood back at different times? Can you bring them in your mind to the cross of Jesus and allow him to share them with you?
Maybe there are also times in your lives when we feel that God has forgotten you. We’ve all been through a difficult year and are still looking for the ‘new normal’. The impact on us will have varied from person to person but, whatever our experiences have been in the last year, or in the years before, the truth remains that God has not forgotten us. He comforts us and he restores the joy to our lives
Isaiah’s image of God engraving us on the palm of his hands is reminiscent of someone tattooing the name of a loved one on their body as a lifelong reminder of the love they share, or shared.
The image of us being engraved on the palms of God’s hands took on a greater significance when Jesus died for us on the cross, carrying not only our griefs and our sorrows, but also all the sin in our lives.
God will never forget you; you are forever remembered in the nail prints engraved on the palms of his hands. Love as costly as that will never fade.
A Prayer
Thanks you Jesus that you carried my griefs and sorrows on the cross, that you rose again to bring me new life, and that within your love I will never be forgotten. Amen
Here is love
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