God’s people said, “The LORD has forsaken us.” He answered, “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. (Isaiah 49:14-16)
You can also read Christ Will Not Forget You Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
Why is This Happening to Me?
God’s people often feel rejected because of our own sins, because of the world’s sins against us, or because of the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work. But let’s never forget that we are still in God’s loving hands! Hebrews chapter 12 explains the Lord’s rebuking, correcting, and training process.
My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when He corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child... No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. (Hebrews 12:4-5,13 NLT)
Jesus says the same, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1-2)
Because He loves us, sometimes the Lord chastens us through unpleasant experiences God disciplines us for our good, never to harm us, but so that we learn to submit to Him and to resemble Jesus more and more. So we must not lose heart or give up. God is more concerned about our Christ-like character than our comfort.
What is Trial by Fire?
By disciplining us, the Lord separates the sin in us He hates from the saved-by-grace sinners (us) whom He loves.1 Counselor Paul Tautges explains the Lord’s refining fire. “Our faith is even more precious than gold, so God sometimes turns up the thermostat. He heats up the furnace of affliction, in order to reveal impurity in our hearts, so that it can be skimmed off.”2 Kenneth Wuest (1893-1961) adds, “When the metalworker sees the reflection of his face clearly mirrored in the surface of the liquid, he takes it off the fire, for he knows that the contents are pure gold. So it is with God and His children. He puts us in the crucible of Christian suffering, in which sin is gradually purified out of our lives. Above all, God the Father desires to see the reflection of the face of Jesus Christ in the character of the Christian. Christlike-ness is God’s ideal for His children.”
The Lord’s purposes can be mysterious and hard to understand. Some reasons we won’t grasp until years later. Others we won’t know until Heaven. John Flavel said that some of God’s providences (His works in our lives) are like Hebrew letters and must be read backwards. Hebrew writing is read backwards from our perspective, right to left instead of left to right. So also the Lord’s providence must be understood in a similar way, backwards in time.
God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken.
And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart. (Charles Spurgeon)
Let’s look again at our verses in Isaiah 49 to learn more about God’s heart for us.
Written on Jesus’ Hands
Christ the Lord says in Isaiah 49:16: “See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands.” John, an Apostle of Christ, wrote that Isaiah saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about Him.3 Isaiah was writing to all Christ’s followers — Jewish and Gentile, Old and New Testament believers. So Isaiah 49:16 is God’s promise to all who repent and believe on Jesus, right up to the present day. He’s writing to us, Christians!
Isaiah says that Jesus has etched our very selves on His hands. It’s an exuberant way for the Lord to tells us how much He loves us! When my children and grandchildren were small and scared, I’d wrap them in my long arms and hold them close to reassure them of my presence and protection. But we can only shield our loved ones from a few things in this dangerous world. Thank God, Jesus shelters us from all human and Satanic enemies and from life-threatening situations every day. His hands were pierced and scarred by the nails of the cross as He died in our place. All men, women, girls, and boys who trust and follow Christ are cherished, guarded, and preserved in His wounded hands.
Jesus has written our names on His hands, on His heart, and in His Book of Life.4
Triply Secure
Christ pledges to never let go of His little flock, His believers. Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”5 We are doubly secure in the power of Christ our Good Shepherd and God our Heavenly Father.
In addition, every believer is marked in Jesus with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who guarantees our inheritance until Christ returns for us.6 Ranchers brand their cattle, loggers carve a symbol on their trees, and people seal important papers with a wax seal. All these are marks of ownership and authenticity. The Holy Spirit is God’s proof that we are His children. So we are triply secure! God the Holy Trinity knows that we can go through extreme trials, so He heaps up His promises to assure Christ’s believers that the Lord will not let anyone or anything take us away from Him.
How marvelous! How wonderful is my Savior’s love for me!
Jesus Remains Pierced after His Resurrection
In John 20, “Doubting” Thomas insisted, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” Christ appeared and said, “Peace be with you!…Put your finger here. See My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas was now persuaded that Jesus had raised from the grave bodily to be alive forever. Then Thomas praised Christ as “My Lord and my God!”6 The Roman emperor at this time was Domitian, and he liked to be called “Lord God.” But Thomas was saying more. Thomas recognized that Christ is God Himself. He used “my Lord and my God” as a divine title!7
Because Jesus is fully God and fully human in one Person, His wounds guarantee our eternal life. His humanity made the cross possible (because God can’t die). Christ’s deity (His divine nature) makes His death infinitely valuable for saving sinners. In His death, Jesus saved a great multitude that no one can count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language. (Rev 7:9) And His resurrection proves that His sacrifice in our place was accepted by God the Father and guarantees the future bodily resurrection of all His believers.
In Jesus’ two natures coming together, He accomplished our salvation fully and finally. And Christ wants us to be absolutely sure of our security in Him.
So we can join in singing Lidie Edmunds’ confident hymn:
My faith has found a resting place, Not in device nor creed.
I trust the Ever-living One, His wounds for me shall plead.
Enough for me that Jesus saves, This ends my fear and doubt.
A sinful soul I come to Him, He’ll never cast me out.
Refrain: I need no other argument, I need no other plea.
It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me.8
Christ tells Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The Bible is full of the Lord’s divine words and deeds “so that we may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have eternal life in His name.”9
“Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand.
But I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand.”10
Prayer
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thank You that we are written on Your hands and in Your Book of Life! Thank You for Your protection, Your power, and Your peace. Lord Jesus, give us faith to trust Your heart through every painful trial, knowing we are held in the secure grip of Your nail-scarred hands. Strengthen us to press on to serve You with grateful hearts, clear minds, and loving lives. In Christ’s Name we pray, Amen.
You can read Christ Will Not Forget You (Part 5).
Notes (various Bible translations): 1 See Rom 8:28-30. 2 Paul Tautges, “The Refiner’s Fire,” biblicalcounseling.com, Sept. 18, 2020. 3 John 12:41. 4 Isaiah 49:16; Exodus 28:29-30; Phil 4:3; Rev 3:5, 20-11-15. 5 John 10:28-29. 6 2 Cor 1:20-22; Eph 1:13-14, 4:30. 7 John 20:24-29. See also Psalm 35:23. 8 Lidie Edmunds, “My Faith has Found a Resting Place,” 1891. 9 John 20:29-31. 10 Ira Stanphill, “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow,” 1950.