THE LORD HAS FORGOTTEN ME!!! AND…
I have spent much of this first week of spring in bed, feverish and congested with some kind of flu. I’ve been uncomfortable, bored, and full of complaints. To sum it up, I’ve spent much of the past week despairing.
In today’s First Reading, Isaiah writes from a place of hope and encouragement: “I will answer you...I will help you...shall not hunger or thirst….guides them besides springs of water...the Lord comforts his people...shows mercy to his afflicted.” It’s verse after verse of promises wrapped up in peaceful imagery. It is, in theory, comforting.
At least you might think it is...
But, after all this, the people say in response, “THE LORD HAS FORSAKEN ME, MY LORD HAS FORGOTTEN ME.”
This feels relevant! My husband brings me tea and the cool spring breeze feels great on my feverish head, but...THE LORD HAS FORSAKEN ME. I could make a gorgeous dinner for friends and then accidentally set a pot holder on fire...THE LORD HAS FORSAKEN ME.
Regardless of the moment, I can so easily be pummeled by despair! Even as I am immersed in the absolute goodness of my life.
I don’t think the invitation is as simple as being grateful, despite the difficulties. I also don’t see it as an invitation to never be upset with the circumstances of life. At least for me, today, as I sit here, under this blanket, coughing, I feel the invitation to say it out loud. “The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.” (!!!)
And then, to stop moaning long enough to listen to the Lord in His tender response: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”
Take a moment today to consider any pieces of your life that feel forgotten by God. Tell (or even yell) to God about them. Then, when you’re ready, breathe in his tender response: “I will never forget you.”
Teresa Nygard