NEVER FORSAKEN
Being forsaken happens all too often. Sometimes without good reason or an explanation. A husband abandons his wife for another woman. A prodigal forsakes his faith and family. A friend dumps another.
It hurts. How can it not? Being forsaken speaks of rejection, of being left, abandoned; and it leaves us feeling bewildered, with bruised hearts.
But that is when God mercifully leans in and reassuringly whispers into our profoundly sore souls, “I will not fail you or forsake you.”
God’s Perpetual Promise
Many of us recognize this promise from Joshua 1:5, “‘No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.”
Joshua was about to enter the Promised Land of Canaan after wandering in the desert for 40 years with the Israelites. As Moses’ successor, he stood on the edge of the Jordan River and surveyed the land that had been promised to his people more than 800 years earlier.
But the land was filled with hostile tribes who wouldn’t think twice about obliterating the Israelites. Joshua was a bit fearful, and perhaps he was wondering if God was going to let that happen, if He was going to abandon them right on the cusp of possessing the land.
That’s when God assured Joshua that He would be with him. This promise is restated in Hebrews 13:5-6, which makes this a perpetual promise for all of God’s children.
God’s Perpetual Presence
Another Biblical character who at times felt abandoned by God was King David. “My God, my God! Why have You forsaken me? Why do You remain so distant? Why do You ignore my cries for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but You do not answer” (Psalm 22:102). Yet, even as he was venting his feelings, David knew God was with him, that He was especially present in times of trouble.
God is always with us, as well. Once we move past our feelings, we know He is there, because He is perpetually present in our lives and circumstances.
God’s Perpetual Power
“So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6).
“We have this full confidence: God is our Helper, and we need not fear what men can do to us. For if the Lord is for us, who then can be against us” (Romans 8:31).
God not only promises never to leave us, and assures us of His presence, but He also provides the strength to see us through our hard times. That power is manifested in His comfort and strength and prayer, which upholds us (Isaiah 41:10, 66:13; Psalm 23:4, Isaiah 41:10, Romans 8:26-27).
Yes, we may be forsaken by others, but never, ever by God.
