03072026 Forgotten Forever?

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the faithful God who remembers His children. Here’s one illustration. This winter in my corner of the world has been a tough winter. Long stretches of very cold weather. Numerous snowstorms, including one pretty big one. Snow that lingered on the ground week after week after week. Lakes and ponds that still remain mostly ice-covered, delaying migration of waterfowl. So many days that are dreary, damp, and chilly. Long stretches without seeing the sun.

At times it seems like the winter will never end! But it will. It always does. Why? Because God promised that it would be so! He promised Noah that the seasons of planting and harvesting, of cold and heat, of summer and winter would never cease. So every year God faithfully puts the winter away and takes out the summer. He has never failed yet. The evidence is strongly in His favor – over 6000 years of consistency.

The weather is one thing, but how about our individual lives? Doesn’t it sometimes seem like God has forgotten about us? That in the ups and downs of life, we have been abandoned in the downs?

Consider these anguished questions from Asaph, who apparently felt just that way. “Will the Lord cast off for ever? And will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy gone for ever? Doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?” (Psalm 77:7-9). Asaph doesn’t merely feel like his struggles have lasted for a long time; he feels like they will never end. He keeps projecting the possibility that God’s silence will be forever.

We don’t know what Asaph’s specific struggle was. We don’t know how or when it turned around. We do know that Asaph was able to gain victory in his soul. He did that by deliberately remembering what God had done in the past. He recalls the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. I believe his contemplations may have also included the creation of the world and Noah’s flood (vs. 14-20). Whatever specific events Asaph was recalling, he was purposefully reminding himself of God’s great works.

The truth that sustained Asaph is implied. God doesn’t change. The same God who did all those great things in the past is able to do great things in the present and in the future. Why? Because He never abandons His people. He does act favorably toward them. He is merciful. His promises don’t fail. He is always gracious. His tender mercies keep pouring forth. Just like with the weather, God has a great record of consistency with His people. The evidence is strongly in His favor – thousands and thousands of believers through thousands and thousands of challenges over thousands and thousands of years.

Some winters are harder than others. Some winters last longer. Some have more snow and ice. Some have more intense cold and a greater quantity of dreary days. But they all end at God’s command. Seasons of life are the same. Some are tough, even to unprecedented levels. Some seem interminable. Some are especially oppressive and discouraging. But they will all end at God’s command. He will show His mercy and grace and tender mercies. He does remember and will respond. Take heart! Spring is coming!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA