Feb 02 2009
Has God Forgotten You?
“Lord, it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,
And this Thy grace to give.
“If life be long, I will be glad,
That I may long obey;
If short, yet why should I be sad
To welcome endless day?
Christ leads me through no darker rooms
Than He went through before;
He that into God’s Kingdom comes
Must enter by this door.
Come, Lord, when grace hath made me meet
Thy blessed face to see;
For, if Thy work on earth be sweet,
What will Thy glory be?
My Knowledge of that life is small,
The eye of faith is dim;
But ’tis enough that Christ knows all,
And I shall be with Him.”
Penned by Richard Baxter when, at 70 years of age and suffering with tuberculosis, he was imprisoned, persecuted, and forbidden to preach.
No matter how bad it seems, we have life easy. In fact, because it is so easy, we cringe at the little trials which come our way and pray for protection from even the slightest bumps in our road. Richard Baxter puts most of us to shame.
Regardless of the trials God may bring our way, nothing is the result of His forgetting us. “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. And the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.” (Mal 3:16) “You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?” (Ps 56:8)
Both of these passages were written to give us confidence. God not only sees, He remembers. Nothing we experience, no trial we face, no bad deed we endure is overlooked.
While the all-knowing character of God can be unnerving to the sinner, the Christian should draw comfort and direction from this knowledge.
Direction because God sees all. Nothing can hide from His gaze (Ps 139:4, 12). No sin will go unpunished (Ps 37:7-11; Ecc 12:14; Jer 17:10).
If God knows all, even the most secret thoughts of my heart which I barely acknowledge, this should prompt and encourage me to more godly living. Since God has promised no sin will go unpunished (Ps 37:7-11), knowing He sees all should strengthen me in my fight against sin.
Comfort - As we looked at above, knowing God has not forgotten me nor left me to face my troubles alone should provide me with great comfort. Furthermore, knowing that in spite of my sin and failure to walk the path I know I ought to take; in spite of God’s knowledge of my sin and non-conformity to His law - God has chose to love me (Rom 5:8). While I may overlook or downplay my sins, God does not (1 Sam 16:7). Thank God, He loves me anyway!
Next time God sends you down a path you do NOT want to travel, remember He has not forgotten you. Next time a trial seems dark and scary, remember He is there beside you (Ps 23:4).
May we, like Richard Baxter, focus on the eternal, the things which matter so much more than our personal comfort, health, or safety. May this knowledge give us boldness when faced with decisions where we must choose between our comfort or safety and doing what is right - what matters for eternity!
