A Mother’s Love Remembers—And God Never Forgets You
A Mother’s Love and God’s Promise:
You Are Not Forgotten
“’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.” Isaiah 49:14-15
In this passage, God gives women perhaps the best compliment possible. He likens His fondness for remembering us to that of a mother who can't forget her nursing child.
What a beautiful image of God and a mother's heartfelt nature.
In context, this passage is God's response to His people who are crying out to Him with a feeling of abandonment.
How does He respond?
He uses the most emotionally secure relationship known to humans - that of a mother and nursing infant as an illustration of the security of His love for us. Like God's heart, the mother's heart is instinctively caring; she provides daily nourishment and near-constant attention to the child.
In this passage, you and I are the infants, and God is our parent.
He loves us and cares for us as a mother tenderly cares for her newborn.
The phrase "though she may forget" does not imply she literally forgets her child. It simply points out that human love has its limits when trauma, sin, or exhaustion come into play.
As the passage ends, God contrasts our limited love with His everlasting love in a grand promise to you and me.
I will not forget you.
This declaration not to forget us is not a sentimental idea, but a covenantal remembrance. In scripture, "to remember" often means to remain faithful, stay present, and keep promises.
That's the God we have.
As we journey along life's road, we can confidently know that God cares for us tenderly, as a mother's heart cares for and fondly remembers her infant.
Reflection
Where have you seen God’s faithful heart reflected through a woman’s love?
Questions to explore in Scripture and take to the Lord in prayer:
Does God ever forget us?
What does Isaiah 49:15 mean?
How does God’s love compare to a mother’s love?
What does it mean that God “remembers” us?