Christmas in the Holy LandSample

God Hasn’t Forgotten You

God hasn’t forgotten you. Christmas proves it’s true. 

When someone makes us a promise, it’s always best to give them the benefit of the doubt and believe them—unless, of course, they have a history of fibbing. Most of us have learned the only way we can trust that people will keep their word is if they have kept their word.

The same is true of God’s promises. But sometimes, it feels like the Lord has forgotten us. God’s people have often felt that way. 

Once the Old Testament prophets felt silent, four centuries passed. Imagine it, for 400 years, God’s people had no new word from God. They had the completed Old Testament, and that’s it. A book of promises—a book of hope. 

Four centuries of silence! Had God forgotten His people or His promises? If not, then why so many years of doing nothing? 

God was doing a lot in the centuries before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. After Alexander the Great brought the Greek culture to the conquered nations, the world had a universal language: Greek. The Roman Empire then built a superhighway system of 50,000 miles of roads. It only seemed like God was doing nothing. In fact, He had been paving the way for His new gospel of Christ to go to the ends of the earth through a universal language and international highways. With everything ready, “when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son” (Gal. 4:4). 

It may seem like God has done very little in your life for a long time. It may feel like centuries! No miracles, no major transitions, no shafts of light. All you have is the Bible—a book of promises. But the fact is, God has been working in your life all along—and He still is. Working behind the scenes, preparing the roads, and preparing your heart (Prov. 3:5–6). So that when the fullness of time comes, when the timing for His will is right, you'll realize that God hasn’t forgotten you and how much He loves you.

Jesus’ words to His disillusioned disciples illustrate why we can believe God’s promises:

“I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe.” (John 14:29)

Why can we trust that God will keep His promises? Because—without exception—He always has.