YOU ARE ENGRAVED IN THE HANDS OF GOD

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; your walls are ever before me. Isaiah 49:14-16

Welcome to another New Year, the Year 2021! I believe some of you may be having the thoughts that the Lord forgot about you in the past year because of what you went through. Things didn't go the way you expected. You might have lost a loved one, lost your business or your job, or your health deteriorated. Because of this, you may be saying the say thing as Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” 

But has the Lord really forsaken you? Indeed, He has not! He says in Isaiah 46:15a, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Mothers have a special bond for their babies because they carrry them for nine months in their wombs and they nurture them when they are delivered. It is unsual to find a mother who does care for her baby but it does happen where some mothers abandon their children for whatever reason. So even with this special bond, mothers can sometimes forget their youn ones but the Lord, who is compassionate in love, never ever will forget His own, especially, those who are called by His name. So if you have made the Lord God, the master and Lord over your life, He is assuring you today that "Though she (a mother) may forget, I will not forget you! (Isaiah 46:15b). Why? Because He has engraved you in His hands. "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." Isaiah 49:16

To engrave means to make a deep mark on something. To engrave is to etch into some material or object. So it means leaving a permanent or lasting mark on that object. So for you to be engraved in the palms or hands of the Living God is no small thing. It means God will always remember you because you are always in His thoughts. He will never leave you nor forsake you. "Behold I am with you always even to the end of ages." So what is the implication of this? It means that we should not fear what the future holds because the good Lord is in control and He who has began the good work in your life will bring it to completion through Christ Jesus. Amen!

Because you are engraved in God's hands you can reassured that everything that you encounter in this life, whether good or bad, will all work for your good. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 

So if you are genuinely called by God and you obey and do His will, He will ensure that all things will turn out well for you. O what a blessed assurance!

Joseph who encountered diverse challenges starting with his brothers, Portiphar's wife and finally life in prison, became a prime minister of Egypt. Through all these challenges, he knew that he was engraved in the hands of God, so everything would at the end turn out for good. So when he encountered his brothers in Egypt he told them in Genesis 50:19-20 that "Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."

14 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. Genesis 50:14-21

David also knew that he was engraved in the hands of God so he could say in Psalm 23 that "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want..........................Ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me.........."

Paul also wrote in the book of Romans 8:38-39 (NIV) that "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. He could only say that because he understood what it means to be engraved in the hands of God. He understood that all things will work out for his good since he loved the Lord and the Lord loves him. 

This is the assurance that we have if we understand that we are engraved in God's hands.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,  Cush and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— Isaiah 43:2-6

"But now listen, Jacob my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. This is what the Lord says—he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.             Isaiah 44:1-3

When you are engraved in God's hands, you are special and chosen amongst the few. 

“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. Isaiah 41:8-9

I pray that this year, you will come to the understanding that the LORD is on your side because He has engraved you with an indelible mark in His hand. He cares about you and will work day and night to ensure that you are victorious in the days ahead. Just keep trusting in Him and never lose faith. Amen!