That is the way the Israelites were in Egypt. They had not forgotten things completely, but they were losing them. And so they were hopelessly drifting along in their slavery - even at times crying out to God, in circumstances beyond their control. They were groaning under the burdens of every day life, without knowing (at the time that they were groaning) that God was already beginning to take the steps necessary for their salvation.
It is interesting that there are four verbs in these verses that are linked. And if we were going to be translating them literally, it would say this: God heard. God remembered. God looked, meaning, He considered, was thinking about it. And God knew, meaning, He was intimately concerned.
Notice in these verses, like in verse 7: "I have surely seen the affliction of My people." That is interesting. He is already calling them "MY people." He did not call them "MY people" because they loved Him, but because He loved them and was already taking an active part in their lives. So right here at the very beginning, if we are going to apply this to our own calling, we have to acknowledge who is taking the initiative, who is doing the leading, who is providing what is necessary, who is in charge, who has the answer to all the questions.
