On His Palm
Today's Bible Reading: ISAIAH 48:12-52:12
Isaiah 49:14-16
But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord forgotten me.” . . . Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palm of my hand.
There are times in our lives when like the Israelites, “Zion”, we feel forsaken and forgotten by the Lord. Times when the dark clouds of despair roll over our life, season when the turbulent winds of trouble blow our way, and periods when we feel this deep abiding abandonment by the almighty. We feel an overwhelming sense of desertion by the divine, as if we have been cast off by our creator. From our debilitating dilemmas, crushing circumstances and severe struggles we conclude that God has forsaken and forgotten us. We imagine that His care has ceased, His love has left, His grace has gone and His mercy is missing. It is as if the Lord has pushed us away leaving us with our problems and in our pain. It is in these times we can relate to our Israelite friends feeling forsaken and forgotten by the almighty.
Although this may be the assessment of our angst, it is not how our sovereign sees our struggle. Here the Lord quickly comments on their consideration with a relatable illustration. He challenges them to compare the care of a nursing mother to the care He has for them, His children. He poses the question, “Can a woman forget her nursing child?” He then relates His undying unchanging intimacy toward them to that of a compassionate mother for her son. He recognizes that some mothers could forget their child, but He asserts them that He would not forget His beloved children, Israel. His care for them is continual, His love for them is everlasting, His grace pour out to them is abundant and His mercy never ceasing. The Lord will never forsake or forget those whose faith is in Him.
He further assures them of His forever faithfulness by making an incredible visible assertion. He states, “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hand.” This very pointed pictorial representation adequately addressed their concern. He has them, individually engraved or tattooed on the palms of his hand. They are not inscribed on a plaque on His wall, on His garments or on someplace else where the imprinted item could be left behind and no longer visible, but rather on His body. And not just anywhere on His body, but in a place where it is literally seen all the time.
Just consider how often the palm of your hand is visible to you. The Lord can’t forget what He sees all the time. The Lord can’t forsake what is permanently engraved on a fixed part of His body. His feelings toward the children of Israel are the same as his feelings toward those who trust in Him now. He will never forsake or forget those who are tattooed on His palms.
There is one more assurance that came thousands of years after this affirmation. Jesus came among us, lived a sinless life, offered Himself as a sinless sacrifice and was supernaturally raised unto His permanently glorified state. Now He remains as He is forever. Consider the palms of His hands. He bears the imprint or the scars of the nails driven into His hands because of our disobedience. The imprint on His palms is an eternal mark to point to His death on our behalf. It is a very real reminder of all those who are His. In a sense you are inscribed on His hand. He can never forsake you or forget you because the marks of His love for you are forever on His palms. So never doubt His faithful and everlasting love for you, even when your frustration and failures causes you to not “feel” it. Jesus will never forsake or forget those whose faith is in Him, the one who has them engraved in the palms of His nail scared hand.
Today glance at your palms and remember the scars on the palms of Jesus and rejoice that you are inscribed on His palms.
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