The Futility of Forgetting God

January 19

Week Three: Do Not Trust the Nations

“Why? Because you have turned from the God who can save you. You have forgotten the Rock who can hide you.

So you may plant the finest grapevines and import the most expensive seedlings. They may sprout on the day you set them out; yes, they may blossom on the very morning you plant them, but you will never pick any grapes from them.

Your only harvest will be a load of grief and unrelieved pain.” Isaiah‬ ‭17‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” John‬ ‭15‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Reflection

We live in a world that celebrates productivity but ignores presence.

Efficiency without reflection.
Growth without gratitude.
Success without surrender.

Isaiah names something that is as ancient as it is modern.

Forgetting God.

Not rejecting Him outright. Not denying His existence. Simply building, planting, striving, and structuring life as though He were no longer central.

Isaiah 17 speaks of carefully planted gardens, impressive growth, and visible success, yet it all collapses because the people had forgotten the God who formed them. The issue is not effort. The issue is posture. God was no longer the reference point.

As I sit here in the latter half of my 50s, and today celebrating my 35th wedding anniversary with my lovely wife, I read these words differently than I would have years ago. I cannot help but look back over seasons where I strove in my own strength.

For eight years, I owned and ran a business that was, by most measures, very successful. It supported my family, and a number of others, contributed to the community, and helped fund good Christian projects and initiatives. On the surface, it all looked healthy.

But looking back with honesty, pride had quietly crept in. I was praying and loving life, yet running in the fast lane. Striving. Chasing. Not wrong things, but with the wrong posture.

I was trusting my ability, my drive, and the security of financial outcomes far more than I realised. I wasn’t trusting God nearly enough.

So God began to teach me.

I sold that business, and for the next eight years worked for the company I had sold it to. I then joined a startup business with some colleagues, and after five years, that too did not go well. The years that followed were, on the surface, incredibly challenging.

But they were not wasted.

God used those years to test and try me, but more than that, to grow and strengthen me. It is through struggle that we grow. It is through uncertainty that we learn to trust.

Slowly, and painfully at times, I came to understand that I no longer needed to strive in my own strength. True peace and joy are not found in outcomes, titles, or stability. They come from alignment with God’s path, His plans, and His purposes.

This is what Isaiah is warning us about. When we forget God, even good things become hollow. Productivity without presence leaves us empty. Growth without gratitude makes us proud. Success without surrender eventually collapses.

Jesus echoes this truth plainly in John 15. Without Him, we can do nothing. Not nothing impressive. Not nothing productive. Nothing that truly lasts.

So the question Isaiah places before us is very personal. Where have I placed my trust?

And a gentler question follows. What would I tell my younger self if I could?

Maybe this is your moment to learn the lesson earlier than I did. To pause and consider, am I striving after life in my own strength. And the reminder to remain in Him before running. To abide in Him rather than the need to impress.

May God speak through this Word and through this raw honesty, to lovingly re-centre our hearts on Him.

Prayer

Father, Forgive us for the ways we forget You, not with our words, but with our lives. Forgive us for building, striving, and planning as though everything depends on us.

We confess that we often love productivity more than presence with you, outcomes more than willing obedience, and success more than daily surrender.

Today, we return You to Your rightful place. You are the source, our beginning. You are our sustainer. You are the One in whom we live, move, and have our being.

Teach us Lord to abide. Teach us to trust You. Teach us to rest in You. You alone are worthy.

May our lives bear fruit, not because we strive harder, but because we remain closer. In Your presence, led by Your Holy Spirit, living out Your purposes and plans for our lives.

In Jesus’ holy and precious name we pray, Amen.

Practice for Today

Pause today and ask yourself honestly: Where am I striving in my own strength? Where have I subtly replaced trust with control?

Offer those places back to God. Even briefly, or imperfectly.

Remember: growth that begins in God is the only growth that lasts.