When You Feel Forgotten by God

When You Feel Forgotten by God: What Elizabeth’s Story Teaches Us About Waiting

💙 Beloved One,

‍Have you ever found yourself sitting in the wreckage of one more hard thing, whispering through tears, God, do You see me? I know that feeling well. There was a season when our basement flooded with raw sewage, treasured keepsakes sat in polluted water, my health was declining, and fear for my children’s safety weighed heavily on my heart. Beneath the visible chaos, something deeper was taking root—exhaustion, discouragement, and the quiet loneliness of feeling unseen in my struggle. Sitting on those basement stairs, overwhelmed by loss and uncertainty, I wrestled with the question many of us carry in suffering: Does God see me, and does He care? If you’ve ever felt forgotten in your waiting or buried beneath circumstances you didn’t choose, you’re not alone.

That question echoes through the hearts of many women.

The Loneliness of Waiting

My friend Natasha wrestled with it during her painful journey through infertility. She longed to become a mother and wondered why the desire of her heart seemed unanswered. Yet over time, she discovered that God had not forgotten her. Through adoption, He fulfilled the deeper longing of her heart and rewrote her story in a way she never imagined.

Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, knew this same ache.

In Luke 1, we meet a woman who had lived faithfully before God while carrying the public shame of childlessness. In a culture where infertility often brought reproach, Elizabeth’s story might have appeared defined by what she lacked.

‍J.C. Ryle a 19th-century theologian, said, "We are told that they 'had no child.' The full force of these words can hardly be understood by a modern Christian."

Yet Scripture describes her differently in Luke 1:6, which says: “Both of them were righteous in the sight of God." Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says that Elizabeth and Zechariah were both faithful and beloved of the Lord. Though years passed and heaven seemed silent, God had not forgotten them.

A God Who Sees

Elizabeth’s story reminds us that waiting seasons are not wasted seasons. God was quietly preparing a moment that would change everything. Not only for Elizabeth and Zechariah, but for the entire world. The birth of their son, John the Baptist, would announce the coming of the long-awaited Messiah.

What looked like delay was actually divine preparation.

The same God who saw Elizabeth in her quiet faithfulness still sees us today. He sees the prayers whispered in the dark, the tears shed when no one else notices, and the burdens carried silently in our hearts. When shame tries to define us by what we lack or what has not yet happened, God speaks a better identity over our lives.

You are not forgotten.
You are not overlooked.
You are seen and remembered by God.

Friend, if you are in a season of waiting, bring that place honestly before the Lord today. The God who remembered Elizabeth remembers you, too.

💙 Your securely held sister,

Cheryl

Stop striving. Start resting. Live securely held.
CherylLutz.com

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