Never Leaving. Never Forsaking.

Abandon. Forsake. Desert. Cast off. As a self proclaimed “people pleaser,” we have summed up one of my biggest fears in a mere 5 words. Our society has accepted these concepts of leaving as a norm. Self-absorbed and thinking only about what is best for me, we are encouraged to ostracize anything that isn’t helping us, is holding us back, isn’t making us into the best we can be. It’s disheartening to watch the news and see everything from abandoned homes to abandoned babies and families to abandoned projects and jobs. Culture teaches us this is okay, as long as we can better ourselves. Deuteronomy 31:6 proclaims, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” What a mighty God! Not only is He always with us, he promises to never leave us. He gives us the ultimate, countercultural example of how to abide, bear with, remain. I’ve heard this promise preached upon in several sermons. That we are to take heart during our troubling times and remember that The Lord will never leave nor forsake us. It’s a powerful promise. When I typically picture this promise playing out in my life, I picture God with me, encouraging me, near me when I am “on my best behavior.” When I am being obedient, when I am seeking to follow Him. I picture Him following after me, prompting me on toward His perfection, comforting me when I am not questioning Him and His provision during difficult times. I think, however, that the mind blowing part of this promise is that God doesn’t put those stipulations on His promise. There is NO if…then statement attached. No If you are obedient, then I will protect and not forsake you. During college, I went through a rebellious phase. I made choices that I knew were disobedient to all kinds of people and rules, including God. I put myself in sketchy situations where I could have and should have been in way over my head. These times are where God truly showed me that He never leaves or forsakes us, because during that season of blatant disobedience, God continued to abide with me, never leaving nor forsaking me, continuing to protect me from my waywardness and the imminent punishment that should have come with it. Looking back on this time, I learned more about God’s grace, more about His presence and protection, than I did in any other time in my life. John 16:4-6 promises, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” As God is faithful in ways we cannot be, remaining near to us even when we sin, His best for us is to also abide in Him, remain close to Him so that we can bear fruit, live the lives that He has planned for us (which are far greater than anything we could dream up on our own) and bring glory to Him by becoming more like Him. In our sinful humanity, we cannot do this. Luckily, we have a God who leads us by example, never leaving nor forsaking us.