Read: Isaiah 49:13-21

God never forgets us.

上帝永不忘记我们。

I will not forget you! Isaiah 49:15

我却不忘记你。-以赛亚书49章15节

At her mother’s 50th birthday celebration with hundreds of people present,first born daughter Kukua recounted what her mother had done for her. The timeswere hard, Kukua remembered, and funds were scarce in the home. But her single mother deprived herself of personal comfort, selling her precious jewelry and other possessions in order to put Kukua through high school. With tears in her eyes, Kukua said that no matter how difficult things were, her mother never abandoned her or her siblings.

葫花是家中的长女，她母亲欢庆50岁寿辰，在好几百个村民参加的寿宴上，她细数母亲曾为她做的牺牲。葫花记得当时日子艰难，家里经济拮据。身为单亲妈妈，她母亲将自己仅有的首饰和财物都拿去变卖，好供葫花继续上中学。葫花热泪盈眶地说，不管日子多艰困，母亲从未遗弃她或她的弟妹。

God compared His love for His people with a mother’s love for her child. When the people of Israel felt abandoned by God during their exile, they complained:“The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me” (Isa. 49:14). But God said, “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!” (v. 15).   上帝也以母亲对子女的爱，来比拟祂对祂子民的爱。在以色列民被掳时，他们觉得自己被上帝抛弃了，于是就抱怨说：「耶和华离弃了我，主忘记了我」（以赛亚书49章14节）。但上帝却告诉他们说：「妇人焉能忘记她吃奶的婴孩，不怜恤她所生的儿子？即或有忘记的，我却不忘记你。」（15节）

When we are distressed or disillusioned, we may feel abandoned by society, family, and friends, but God does not abandon us. It is a great encouragement that the Lord says, "I have engraved you on the palms of my hands" (v. 16) to indicate how much He knows and protects us. Even if people forsake us, God will never forsake His own.

当我们遭遇患难或理想破灭时，可能会觉得自己被社会、家庭，或是朋友遗弃。但上帝不抛弃我们，祂说：「我将你铭刻在我掌上」（16节）。这是莫大的鼓励，显示祂深知我们的一切，并乐意保护我们。即使人们弃绝了我们，上帝永不会离弃属祂的儿女。

Prayer 祷告：

Thank You, Lord, that I am Yours forever. I’m thankful that I won’t have to walk through any experience alone.

主啊，谢谢祢，因为我永远属祢。感谢祢，让我不必独自经历任何风浪。

Read: Isaiah49:13-21

Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.But Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me."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; your walls are ever before me.Your sons hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you.Lift up your eyes and look around; all your sons gather and come to you. As surely as I live," declares the Lord , "you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride.Though you were ruined and made desolate and your land laid waste, now you will be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away.The children born during your bereavement will yet say in your hearing, 'This place is too small for us; give us more space to live in.'Then you will say in your heart, 'Who bore me these? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up? I was left all alone, but these-where have they come from?' " 

整理：于姊妹