I Will Never Leave you
God has promised multiple times throughout the Bible that He will never leave nor forsake us. “I will never leave you nor forsake you”. With this promise, we can rest assured that He is always with us and we are encouraged to always be with Him in faith and spirit.
There are several Biblical covenants. A Biblical covenant is a chosen relation or partnership in which two parties make binding promises to each other and work together to reach a common goal. www.bibleproject.com.
While God’s covenant intention is for a sacred agreement between Himself and His children, our omniscient Father knew that we are not capable of keeping our part of the agreement. From the beginning of humanity, we have failed at covenant keeping.
“Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant which they broke… “I will put my law within them, on their heart(s) I will write it; and I will be their God and they shall be my People.” Jeremiah 31: 31-34 (ESV).
Isaiah 53:4-6 (MSG) “But the fact is, it was our pains He carried, our disfigurements; all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we are healed.
6 We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong on Jesus.”
While Jesus was fully aware of the sacrifice required of Him; the compulsory suffering for our sins. He was filled with anguish and deep dread over the experience. He knew His Earthly purpose deep within His Spirit. He came as the sacrificial lamb for all the world. In the Garden of Gethsemane, prior to His arrest, He asked God to allow this cup to pass. “Never the less, not my will, but your will”. Jesus surrendered to His commitment. He knew that His sacrifice would bring Glory to our Triune God. Because He kept His commitment, He is now seated at the right hand of God our Father and we are joint heirs in all of His benefits.
Everyone goes through difficult times, whether we are walking with God or not. The advantage of being God’s child, is we have the power of His Sprit living within us, to help us through those tough times, If we are accepting of the privilege. “I will never leave nor forsake you.”
At times we may question God’s promises. “Some of the Jewish followers, who received the letter of Hebrews, may have been on the verge of turning away from their privileges.
The people in Moses’s Day, the children of Israel, had doubts and considered returning to the bondage of Egypt instead of pursuing God’s promises in the land of milk and honey. We often allow present difficulties to overshadow the reality of God’s promises. We are tempted to trust in our own efforts instead of the power of Christ. However, our own efforts are never adequate alone; only Christ can see us through our difficulties. Hebrews 4: 1-4 (LAB)
Jesus says, “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. Glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name–the name you gave me–so that they may be one as we are one.” John 17 (NIV)
Hebrews 4:12-13 (MSG) ”God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey.
13 Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.”
Revelation 3:19-20 (MSG) “The people I love, I call to account—prod and correct and guide so that they will live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!
20“Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you.” Please open the door and accept His love.
Being called to account is equivalent to a life with joy, prosperity, peace, love; the greatest joy and peace that we can find in this world. Because we are held to a higher standard, we experience a deeper love and joy that can never be taken away.
We are never condemned; only corrected; as any good parent would do with a beloved child. Romans 8:1-4 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life has set us free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin ofering; and so He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ”
“I will never leave nor forsake you.”
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5: 14-15, (MSG) 14 “Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do. Our firm decision is to practice this focus; One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. 15 He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in His life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people can ever live on their own.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV) “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” He is truthful and He will never leave nor forsake you.