Please don't forget nor forsake me.

 My Lord, Please Don't Forget Nor Forsake Me

A Reflection on Deuteronomy 31:6 and Isaiah 49:15-16

My Lord, please don't forget nor forsake me—

The whisper of a heart that feels alone,

The cry of one who fears the night will take me,

Who wonders if my name is still known.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

I know Your promises—I have read them on the page.

I have sung of Your faithfulness from youth to older age.

But in the valley of the shadow, when the silence presses deep,

My trembling soul needs more than words; it needs Your hand to keep.

You said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Two negatives in Greek—emphatic, strong, and true.

“I will not, I will not, I will not let you go.”

Yet still my fearful heart asks, “Lord, is it really so?”

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

So I bring You my doubt, not hiding it away.

I bring You my fear that You might turn me away.

For You are not offended by my honest, shaky plea.

You are the God who ran to meet the prodigal—that’s me.

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast?”

You ask. And even if she could, yet You insist:

“I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands.”

Your scars are my certificate. Your wounds, my promised land.

“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 49:15-16)

So I choose to believe—not because I feel,

But because Your word is rock, and what You speak is real.

Forgive my unbelief, Lord, and help my unbelief.

Remind me that forgetting is impossible for my Relief.

You will not forget nor forsake me. Not today, not ever.

Your love endures forever; Your faithfulness will never sever.

I rest in this, though storms may rage and fears may shake me.

My Lord, You have not forgotten. You will not forsake me.

Amen.