Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - When You Feel Forgotten by God | The Gospels | Luke 7:18–35

Episode Date: April 2, 2026

Have you ever wondered if God has forgotten you? What happens when one painful moment starts to overshadow years of his faithfulness? What if Jesus’s answer to your doubt is not shame, but an invitation to remember? In today’s episode, Patrick shares how John the Baptist’s question in Luke 7 reminds us that when God feels distant, we can look to the cross as proof that he has not forgotten us. Read the Bible with us in 2026! This year, we’re exploring the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passage: Luke 7:18–35

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Patrick Miller. A few months ago, I made a mistake that I may never live down. One of those things any parent can do, but every parent feels absolutely terrible when they do it. My daughter, she attends dance classes once a week, which means my wife and I need to do drop-offs and pick-ups. Now, typically, my wife does both the drop-off and the pickup for dance, and I do the same for my son when he does violin. in. So anyway, one Monday, my wife asked me to do pickup because she couldn't for some reason.

And of course, I agreed, happy to go pick up Iris. But then something happened. I forgot. Again, I don't normally do it, so it just fell off of my radar. My daughter's class ended and my wife wasn't there and I wasn't there. And then five minutes passed and then 10, then 15, and then 30 and I still wasn't there. It was then that my wife thought to call me and double check whether I'd picked her up. And let's just say I'm glad there were no speed traps between my house and the dance studio because I ended up getting there way, way, way too fast. She was the last kid there with one adult in the dance studio. And she was obviously sad and scared. And I apologized to the teacher profusely and I rushed her into the car. And at that point, I start apologizing

to her profusely. And my daughter, she's a tough kid. And generally these kinds of things roll over her. She doesn't get too hung up on them. But I could tell she was feeling a bit shaken. And again, I get it. I know lots of people with similar stories. And while from an adult perspective, showing up 30 minutes late accidentally one time is in a huge deal from a kid's perspective, it can be absolutely enormous. That's because what they experienced waiting alone made them feel afraid. That's because to a child, a parent not showing up quietly suggest that the child isn't really seen, that the child isn't really valued, that the child doesn't matter. Now, of course, none of those things are true. I simply wasn't used to picking her up at that time and I forgot.

And in all the long years of our relationship, I've never forgotten her once before. But I understand why one failure might overshadow years of faithfulness. And you know, since then, she's made comments about my mistake. Almost every time I pick her up. Now, don't worry, she's not traumatized. I think she makes these comments mostly because they're funny and she knows it gets under my skin. You know, she's like, Dad, you didn't forget me. I'm so impressed. but I know beneath that there's still some pain. There's a twinge of hurt. That hurts me because my heart is that she would know how deeply I love her and never question that.

Sometimes I think on this when I reflect on the paternity, the fatherhood of God. He is a father, after all. Unlike me, he never forgets. He never fails. If we could see everything from his perspective, we would see nothing but love and care. But we are all a lot like my daughter. We're children. We don't see the whole picture. And there are so many circumstances in which it feels like we've

been left behind or forgotten by God. Now, from our perspective, that seems true, just like it seemed true from my daughter's perspective. But of course, in reality, God hasn't. God's not a forgetful father. Something else is happening entirely. But that reality doesn't change our perspective. That doesn't change the twinge of pain or the open question. Are you who you say you are, God? Are you with me? Can I trust you, to show up when I need you? Because right now I feel alone. Unless we think this only happens to spiritually immature people, we should discuss John the Baptist. In today's passage, Jesus says this about John the Baptist. This is Luke 728. I tell you, among those born of women, there is no one

greater than John. In other words, John was one of the most, if not the most spiritually mature person in human history. When John sees Jesus in the Jordan River, he's the first person to identify Jesus for who he really is, the Messiah, the promised king, the long-awaited one. And yet, after Jesus' baptism, things happen that make John start questioning whether he was right. Things happen that make him feel like he's been forgotten. Whereas John came fasting in the wilderness and leading his disciples to live a harsh life like his own, Jesus' disciples, they don't fast. They eat and drink and are merry. And so John must have thought, How could God's Day of Justice come through so much levity?

And whereas John's message was a message of a coming day of judgment for which people must prepare, Jesus spoke a message of radical grace and forgiveness. Again, John must have wondered, is Jesus following the same God? Are we on the same team? Whereas John preached primarily to the Jews and perhaps expected that one day the Gentiles would be overthrown by the Jews, Jesus is out there forgiving Gentile centurians. He tells one of them that he has more faith than everyone in Israel. And John must have thought, but I thought God was preparing to rescue Israel, not save the Gentiles. Meanwhile, Herod's son was coming after John.

Now, we don't know in this story whether John was in prison yet, but if he was, and Jesus is out there marching around with his freedom, then John must have wondered whether Jesus had forgotten him. I mean, he's rotting in prison. So John, the greatest man to ever live, who identified Jesus first as the Messiah, at the start of Jesus' public ministry, that same John does something you might think unthinkable. He questions God. Let's pick up in verse 18.

John's disciples told him about all these things, calling two of them, he, John, sent them to the Lord to ask, are you the one who is to come or should we expect someone else? When the men came to Jesus, they said, John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else? Now, let's be clear. John isn't asking this question in spite of what Jesus is doing,

but according to verse 18, it's because of what Jesus is doing. You see, we're all a lot like John. We all have moments when we see what God is doing, and we draw the conclusion, you've failed me, you've forgotten me, you just don't get it. Those moments can be different. Maybe it's a sickness or a diagnosis you didn't expect.

Maybe it's a relationship that's deeply broken and you don't know how to fix it. Or maybe you thought God was setting you up for your next big thing, but it didn't happen. Maybe it's a new house. Maybe it's a promotion, a pregnancy. Or maybe you're just feeling oppressed by sin or oppressed by anxiety or oppressed by loneliness and depression. We all have those moments. So what should we do? Jesus's answer to John is simple.

remember and pay attention let's pick up in verse 21 at that very time jesus cured many who had diseases sicknesses and evil spirits and he gave sight to many who were blind so he replied to the messengers go back and report to john what you have seen and heard the blind receives sight the lame walk those who have leprosy are cleansed the deaf here the dead are raised and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me. Jesus tells John, pay attention. I'm throwing a festival of salvation, a feast of freedom, a meal that heals the sick, the blind, the poor, and the demonically oppressed, the dead walk, the gospel is preached. If you want to know whether I am who I say I am, stop looking at your situation, John,

and remember what I have already done. God says the same to you wherever you're at. But he points to a greater miracle than the blind receiving sight or even the dead walking. He points you back to the cross. And he says without hesitation, stop looking at your circumstances and fix your eyes on my death for your sins. Fix your eyes on my resurrection for your eternal life. Pay attention and remember that these. These are ultimate truths.

While your present moment is but a fluttering moment that is here and passes away, God has not forgotten you. God has died for you. God has not let you down. God rose up for you. God has not let you go. God holds you securely for eternity.