Latest / Jo Watson: Unfiltered Faith / God Has Not Forgotten You!
Transcript
- Jo Watson: Welcome back to Unfiltered Faith. I'm Joe Watson, and it's time to breathe. Time to slow down. Time to let your shoulders drop, and time to step into the sanctuary. Not the sanctuary we're all so familiar with, but the one that God is building inside you. This is the place where we bring the raw, the real, and the redeemed into the light of God's truth. Today's episode is for the one who's been waiting faithfully, prayerfully, but feeling forgotten. You've been doing all the right things, but your heart still feels heavy. If that's you, this message is your reminder that God has not forgotten you. Before we dive in, I want to share a letter from one of our listeners, a voice that echoes what so many of us feel in the quiet places of waiting. This is what our listener wrote. Dear unfiltered faith, some days I do all right, and other days I feel like God has forgotten about me. I believe He's faithful and He will use the gifts that he has given me to do whatever work he has for me, but some days my heart is heavy because I don't know what more I can do. I'm trying to wait on him, but as the days pass and as I get older I feel discouraged. What can I do to stay encouraged? Signed and Has God forgotten about me? To has God forgotten about me, I hear the ache in your words, that tension between faith and fatigue. You believe, but you're weary. You trust, but you're tired of waiting. And yet even in that weariness, your letter is proof that faith still lives in you. God has not forgotten you. He is refining you. He is teaching you how to stand still in the storm without losing your voice. Isaiah chapter 49, verse 15, reminds us can a woman forget her nursing child and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. You are engraved on the palms of God's hands. Every tear, every prayer, every moment of waiting, God sees it all. Holding on and trusting God can be difficult because it asks you to stand in the place between promise and fulfillment where your faith is stretched and your understanding feels small. But hear me, it is in this tension that God invites you to lean on him when your strength runs out. Proverbs chapter three verse five calls us to trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, reminding us that trust is not built on clarity but on trust. Surrender. And when fear rises, discouragement settles in. Psalm 56, verse 3 whispers, When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Trusting God doesn't erase the struggle. It anchors you in his character when your circumstances feel unstable. urges, pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. The difficulty of holding on is real, but so is the God who strengthens you in the waiting, shaping endurance, deepening faith, and turning every quiet moment into preparation for what He has promised. To everyone listening who feels like heaven has gone quiet or that God has forgotten you, remember this silence is not absence. Sometimes God's quiet is the sound of him working behind the scenes. He is building endurance, shaping character, and preparing the stage for What's next? Romans chapter 8, verse 28 says, and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. Even the waiting is working for your good. And let me also say, waiting on God is not a passive season. It is an invitation to lean in, an invitation to stay close and to keep your heart open even when your hands feel empty. So while you wait, worship. Because worship shifts your focus from what hasn't happened yet to the God who is still working. While you wait, stay in the word. Because Psalm chapter 130, verse 5 says, I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. While you wait, keep doing the last thing God told you to do. Obedience in the small things prepares you for the big things. While you wait, Pray honestly because Philippians chapter four verse six reminds us to present your request to God with thanksgiving and trusting that peace will meet you in the tension. While you wait, serve others. Waiting becomes lighter when your life continues to pour out love. And most of all, while You wait. Anchor yourself in the truth of Isaiah chapter forty verse thirty-one where it says those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. Waiting is not wasted time, it is strengthening time, shaping time, and the sacred ground where God builds the version of you. That can carry what he is preparing. I want to stop right here and pray for this listener and anyone who feels like God has forgotten them. Father, we come before you for every heart that feels forgotten. Remind us that you are near, even when we cannot feel you. Strengthen the weary, lift the discouraged, and breathe courage into those who are waiting. Let your spirit whisper peace into the places that ache. Teach us to trust your timing. And to rest in your faithfulness. In Christ Jesus' name, amen. To someone listening today, let me say: you have not been overlooked, you have been preserved. The delay is not denial, it is divine preparation. You are stepping into a season where what felt forgotten will be revealed. Felt delayed, will be delivered. So hold on. You are not behind. You are being built. Your waiting is not wasted. And when the time comes, you'll see that every quiet moment was God writing your testimony. Psalm chapter 27, verse 14 says, Wait on the Lord, be of good courage. And he shall strengthen your heart. So stay encouraged, stay expectant, and remember you are seen, you are known, and you are loved. And if you are carrying a weight that feels too heavy to hold, please remember that this podcast is not a substitute for professional therapy or pastoral care. Reach out. Get the support you need. You deserve that kind of care. And if you would like to send in a requestion or share a story with Unfiltered Faith, you can reach us at Joe at Unfiltered Faithpod.com. We would love to hear from you. Your testimonies and your experiences matter. They help others grow. They increase. Encourage weary heart, and they draw people closer to Jesus. Until next time, family, unfiltered faith, God is moving, so stay ready, and to God be the glory.