Ever Felt Forgotten?

Guest Post by my good friend Julie Thomas, Women’s Network Director @ Foothills Community Church (Arvada, Colorado)

What’s your summer looking like?

Maybe some of you are anticipating great events, like vacations or backyard barbeques.  Maybe for others, it’s tough for right now because life is big.

I know women who are consumed with pending home foreclosures, crumbling marriages and wayward children and they are wondering where God is in it all.  

They feel… forgotten.  Is that you?

A few years ago I felt as if God had forgotten me.  It seemed as if my time of being “special” in His eyes was completely over… like He had no more plans for me.  I felt so lost and forsaken.  I felt alone, stuck in the “smallness” of “just” being a stay-at-home mom.  My husband was unemployed and had no leads on any possible jobs.  And I was pregnant with our fourth child.

That feeling of being forgotten by the Lord was so dark.  It seemed as if God was unreachable, unattainable.

In my utter sadness my heart cried out, “God, why have you forsaken me?”

One morning, in my meager attempt to search for Him, I found myself in the 5th chapter of the book of Psalms.  And it was on that morning, the Spirit led me to verse 3:

“In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.”

I felt His Words for the first time in a long time say, “I am working.  Watch.”

And then, He poured out these truths to me:

• In the morning, God wanted to hear my voice.

Just as I love and can distinguish the sound of my children’s voice, God felt the same towards me.  My heart ached.  Could that be true?

• In the morning, God wanted to hear my heart.

He asked me to bring Him my heavy heart.  Not after I’d worried and mulled it over for hours.  He wanted the burden in my waking moments.

• God wanted me to watch for Him, with expectation, all day.

Not an expectation as with a hand on the hip, toe-tapping ,“expecting” Him to perform.  This was an eager anticipation, a knowing that He was moving, in love.

God was moving.  Even though I couldn’t see it.  That Truth freed me.  To read that He cared so deeply, that I was not forgotten, poured life back into my weary soul.

I began to watch. 

The evidence of His move was not immediate.  In fact, it was months before my eyes saw even a shadow of His hand.

But oh…make no mistake.

My God moved. 

In His time and at just the right moment…

• I saw God throw open doors. 
• He untangled catastrophic knots.
• He miraculously orchestrated beautiful and tragic events.  

All in a way I could have never written or even dreamt on my best day.

At the end of this amazing journey, God brought our fourth little one into the world.  A boy.  Years ago I told the Lord if He ever allowed me to carry a son, I would name him Zachary.

Little did I know, all those years ago, that my little boy would become my Ebenezer for this incredible season.

The name Zachary means… “God remembered”.

Sisters, do you feel forgotten?  Has your world become so heavy that you cannot see His face?  Do you question His movement in your life?

Take a moment to soak into Psalm 5:3.

Believe that…

• He wants to hear your voice.
• He wants to hear your heart.
• He is on the move.

Will you believe Him?

Would you be willing to take a moment today and say this verse back to the Lord:  “In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.”

He loves you so.  He is working.  Watch.

© 2011 Julie Thomas  

Looking for an online study for the summer?  Check out “Summer in the Psalms” by clicking here.