Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

He Really Means It

HEBREWS 13:5  – Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

 

THEME OF THE DAY:  HE REALLY MEANS IT.  Today’s scripture is such a heart-warming and peace-in-the-heart producing promise of the Lord – He will never leave or forsake us.  But there is something about this promise that we might not fully grasp. The Lord doesn’t just promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”, He really means it and that with force.  The actual meaning of the sentence in the original language is so strong – “In no wise will I let go of thee, nor in any wise will I abandon thee.” It would not be disrespectful to paraphrase this statement saying, “There is absolutely no way I am letting you go nor will I ever even once consider abandoning or giving up on you.”  It would be okay right now to stop reading today’s nugget and shout, “Praise the Lord. I so thank You for such amazing grace that not only saves me but keeps me, never letting me go.”  What a truth to ponder and apply!

 

First, no matter how far down a prodigal path we may travel, the Lord will never leave or forsake us.  We may drift into sins of worldliness and become spiritually apathetic, but the Lord doesn’t abandon us to ourselves. Just the opposite.  He comes to us with words of reconciliation and restoration – “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

 

Next. God’s promise to never leave or forsake us depends on His faithfulness to Himself and His Word, not our faithfulness and conduct.  The writer of Hebrews stresses the unbreakable nature of God’s promises rests upon the unchanging nature of the God who promises; He cannot lie – So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:17-20).

 

Yes, God really means it when He gives us the promise of never leaving nor forsaking us.  And He wants us to walk in the joy and security of this promise. The key to experiencing this level of enjoyment is to be child-like embracing His promise. Learn to do so for God is most pleased when we exercise simple faith in His Word that is tried, true and trustworthy – And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

 

PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for the sure promise of You never abandoning me now and forever.”

 

QUOTE: “If God would forsake His children, He must forsake His Son and neither will ever happen.”

 

Because of Him,

 

Pastor Jim