Has God Forgotten Me?

HAS GOD FORGOTTEN ME? Spring Valley Mennonite; Isaiah 40:12-27; October 23, 2022 Have you ever felt like God has forgotten you? I have never experienced the destruction of my home by fire, or storm, or natural disaster-as some of you have. I have never experienced the loss experienced by so many as a result of war or the trauma of displacement and being relocated as a refugee. Most of us have been spared such times of crisis. But it would be a rare person who has not experienced times when we are confused about what God is doing, or why He allowed certain things to happen. At such times we might feel that God has abandoned us. Can you imagine a whole nation feeling this way? That seems to be the case when Judah found themselves far from their own country, enslaved in Babylon. Their lament is voiced in Psalm 137: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst of it we hung our harps. For there our captors demanded of us songs, and tormentors mirth, saying, 'Sing us one of the songs of Zion.' How can we sing the LORD'S song in a foreign land?" As they looked around, they found themselves surrounded by a foreign culture, language, and pagan religion; everything familiar was gone. The God of Israel seemed far away. There is a great temptation to feel much like they did when the familiar props of our lives are removed. God is sending through Isaiah a message of hope and comfort to His chosen people. Unlike man, God doesn't "unchoose" His own. In chapter 49, the prophet summarizes God's thoughts toward His chosen: "Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people and will have compassion on His afflicted. But Zion said, 'The LORD has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.' 'Can a woman forget her nursing child, and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hand..." It is even more impossible for God to forget His children than for a woman to forget her nursing baby. Neither the hungry baby nor the woman's body will allow feeding time to be forgotten. God does not forget. Yet, when the skies seem like lead and our prayers seem only to reach the ceiling and then bounce back; when prayers for deliverance or relief seen to go unanswered; when pain and suffering continue seemingly unabated-from our limited perspective it seems that God has forgotten us, or that He is busy somewhere else solving bigger issues. With the whole world to run, maybe He is too busy for my small problem. To answer such complaints, God gives us the 40th chapter of Isaiah. We'll be covering verses 12-26 today, the rest of the chapter at a later date, but verse 27 unlocks these preceding verses. (Read v. 27). God answers this question with questions of His own. I count no less than 15 separate rhetorical questions in this passage. When, in our pain, we question God, He inevitably answers "Trust who I am." Have You forsaken me, Lord? In answer He first asks us to consider His greatness: I. CONSIDER THE GREATNESS OF GOD Read v. 12: What is the greatest, biggest, most expansive thing we know? It is the physical universe surrounding us. There are few experiences which will make you feel small and vulnerable than to take a small boat out on the ocean beyond the sight of land when all you can see is water. Yet God is so great that He can hold all the waters of the earth in the hollow of His hand. I did a very unscientific experiment this week: I went to the sink to find out how much water I could hold in my hand. I took a teaspoon and slowly measured water-any guesses at how much I could hold? Perhaps you have bigger hands than mine, but I could barely hold three teaspoons! But our God, if He wished, could hold all the waters of all the oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds and puddles in one of His mighty hands-without a drop escaping! How big is the universe? Last Christmas Day the James Webb orbiting telescope was launched; it is 100 times more powerful than the Hubble Telescope. It can view further into the universe than we've ever seen. Yet it only reveals that space keeps going on and on and on... Our God can measure the universe using the distance between His thumb and small finger (a span). He can hold all the mountains and hills to measure on a balance scale, and He keeps the land and seas in equilibrium so the earth continues spinning without wobbling. What does this say about God? God is greater than all His creation. He is Almighty God. Psalm 19:1: "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." Next, verses 13-14 speak of God's unsurpassed wisdom and authority (Read 13-14). These verses answer the questions: "Is there anyone greater in authority than God? Does God answer to someone above Him? Perhaps God exists in a pantheon of gods, a hierarchy of gods, perhaps there are many gods?" God clearly speaks to monotheism-the question of many gods can be answered "No." There is no one who gives advice to God, nobody can teach God anything. All wisdom and knowledge rests in God. The newest discoveries of science and technology are only that-discoveries of what God already knows. Man discovers the intricate details of physics, biochemistry, medicine, and sociology but these details have always existed in the mind of God. And He merely spoke all things into existence by the power of His words! In His wisdom He established all the laws of mathematics, physics and chemistry. Yet we are tempted, when viewing the injustice and suffering around us, the inexplicable acts of violence and selfish greed to ask "God, have You noticed? Why do You allow such things to go on? Why do the innocent suffer so?" Those exiled in Babylon would ask, "Have You forgotten us? How long, Lord?" Yet God writes the book on justice and fairness. He assures us that wickedness will be punished. The millstones of God's justice grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine. No one can advise God. He is all-knowing and all-caring. When we don't understand, when we can't see His hand, trust His heart. God gives us a second reason why we can know He has not forsaken us: II. CONSIDER GOD'S CONTROL OF HISTORY (Read 15-16) There are many who can acknowledge that God created all things, and that no one is wiser or greater in authority. But they then believe that He doesn't meddle in the everyday affairs of men. He is the "caretaker God" leaving man to muddle his way throughout history best he can. This is the god of the deist. God states here, in no uncertain terms, that He is in control of the History of man. He is the involved God. I love the imagery Isaiah uses to describe God's attitude toward governments and political authorities: the nations-a word used for all peoples other than Israel-the nations are like a drop of water from the outside of a bucket when it is drawn from a well. Does anyone even consider the drop of water that falls from the outside of a bucket? This is how insignificant the nations are. They are also like an inconsequential speck of dust on the merchant's scale. Nations are truly "lightweight" to God. Even Lebanon, which at that time had the magnificent massive Cedar trees from which Solomon's temple was built-if one took all the wood from the mountains of Lebanon, and added all the animals in those forests, together they wouldn't be adequate for a burnt offering sufficient to glorify God. Psalm 2 tells us how the self-important nations feel about God: "Why are the nations in an uproar, and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His Anointed: 'Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!' He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury..." God gave Israel His laws and standards, and promised to write those laws on the hearts of those who are born again. The rebellion of sinful men and nations see God's standards as unwanted and unneeded handcuffs. Look around you: We may have "In God We Trust" on our currency, but the murder of babies in the womb is legal and immorality in its most perverted forms is applauded and even taught in schools! "Let us tear God's fetters apart and cast their cords from us!" Yet, as believers we are to stand strong and be light and salt in a sinful culture. We must stick together, encouraging one another to love and good deeds, taking comfort in our Sovereign God. God certainly is involved in history, and He moves nations around like chess pieces to accomplish His plans. Verse 17 summarizes God's sovereignty over the nations: All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless." Can we grasp the magnitude of such a statement? God is clearly in control of all history. In contrast to the reality of our magnificent, all powerful Creator God is the pitiful god of man's conception: the idol. Isaiah floats the question: "To whom then will you liken God?" We judge things by comparing them to something we know. Some years back Alice's sister was visiting from North Carolina, and among all the sights of Kansas we visited was a prairie dog town near Hutchinson. As we drove by the area and pointed them out, my sister-in-law at first didn't see them-she was comparing something she had never seen to something she knew-dogs. She was looking for something much bigger! When primitive pagans thought of God, they made gods in their own image, or in the image of some created thing. In verses 19-20 Isaiah pokes fun at the idols which man makes. A wealthy man could have an idol fashioned out of silver or gold. A poor man could be contented with wood. After the idol is completed, it needs to be carefully propped up so it doesn't fall over! Then the idol is worshipped! How pitiful! This is the comparison made between the gods of Babylon and the God of Israel. Such a mighty God cannot and will not forget His children. III. GOD SITS ABOVE, PULLING ALL THE STRINGS (Read vv. 21-24) Something that seems to be a dying art is that of puppetry. Today's puppets are most commonly of the muppet sort, without strings. While there is skill involved in using muppets, it nothing like the skill required of the master puppeteer of the past who manipulated and controlled marionettes with strings. That image might help explain God's relation to the world of nations. God is sitting "above the circle of the earth" -by the way, a remarkable observation made some 2200 years before Columbus proved the world was round. God sits above the circle of the world, pulling all the strings. All the activities of men and nations are about as significant as the hopping around of grasshoppers! All the rhetoric of man-all the proclamations made, treaties established, and laws passed; all the threats and posturing of rulers and kings, parliaments and congress, even groups like the United Nations-all man's boastful words are like the chirping of locusts! God just ignores them. To God's chosen nation, exiled in Babylon, such words offered comfort. All the might, power, and glory of Babylon were temporary-God allows nations to be planted, and them blows on them-and they wilt. People of faith can take comfort today in a time when our officials and judges make foolish decisions. Breathe on them Lord! Wilt them with the hot breath of Your judgment! And He will! Take comfort and do not be discouraged! God still sits above the circle of the earth, pulling the strings to accomplish His will. Read verse 25-26. God continues to encourage the righteous. IV. GOD ENCOURAGES THE RIGHTEOUS God repeats Himself, and repeats the question: "To whom will you liken Me?" If you need a measure of comparison, go outside on a clear moonless night and look up. Look up at the stars. It is estimated that one can see around 15,000 stars with the unaided eye. Our Milky Way galaxy alone is estimated to have 100 billion stars. But with telescopes, and especially the new James Webb telescope, millions of other galaxies are visible. Let's see, millions of galaxies with billions of stars...we are speaking of numbers beyond imagination! Our God spoke all those into being, and He has named each one, and every night they shine, controlled and led by Him! "Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing." Now, in light of who God is, look at verse 27: "Why do you say O Jacob, and assert O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God?'" God has answered the question and complaint of Israel by revealing Who He is: He is the Divine Controller of all things. He who keeps track of billions upon billions of stars-do you think He could forget you, O Israel? Friends, when your situation seems to indicate that God doesn't care, or that He has forgotten you, follow Isaiah's advice: go outside and look at the stars. One of the easiest things to do in crisis is to lose our perspective. Our situation is seemingly overwhelming. Our pain seems so intense. Our problems seem so big. Remember that God is so much greater, and more powerful than anything you might be facing. He is trustworthy. We are never out of His thoughts, and as Psalm 139 assures us, He "scrutinizes my path and my lying down, and is intimately acquainted with all my ways." We are the continual object of His love and care, and He invites us to rest in that reality. We are to gaze at God, and glance at our problems. The magnificent Creator and Controller of the Universe loves you individually and died on the Cross so you and I could be forgiven of our sin and dwell eternally in Paradise. This is our God. May we worship and serve Him with joyful and grateful hearts, submitting to His perfect will. 2