The Promises of God - Part 4

Encouragement for Today: The Promises of God

God Will Never Forsake Us

Deuteronomy 31:8
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

Sometimes I think we take for granted the meaning of words we hear often, and that can be especially true for church words.  Forsake is one of those words that comes up in scripture way more often than it comes up in regular conversation, but have ever though much about what forsake means?

• How would you define the word forsake? 
• Does the work forsake have a positive, negative, or neutral feeling to you?
  
  

Forsake means to renounce or to turn away from entirely.  Forsaking something or someone requires intention.  Forsaking requires a decision. Forsaking is a deliberate action.  And, church family, forsaking us is something that God promises NEVER to do to his children.  Our Heavenly Father promises us that he will never make an intentional and deliberate decision to turn away from us. Regardless of how we feel and regardless of what our present circumstances might look like, God’s presence is assured and His faithfulness is promised. The promise that God will not forsake us usually follows the promise that God is always with us.  If the idea Old Testament writers wished to convey was simply that God was omnipresent, they could have stopped with the “never leaving us” part.  But there is holy intention in every word of scripture, and the inclusion of the word forsake is no exception.

• Does believing that God will not forsake us change the way you perceive your present circumstances?
• When God promises never to forsake us, he is actively choosing to stay in relationship with us. How do you choose not to forsake God? How does knowing God desires relationship with you encourage you to pursue him more?
  
  

Paul, in Romans 8:38-39 states:  “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Notice Paul’s verb choice at the beginning of verse 38.  He says that he is convinced that nothing could separate him from the love of God.  Paul was convinced that he would not be forsaken by God, and Paul lived through some tough circumstances.

• What convinced Paul that God would not forsake him in spite of the fact he lived through persecution, shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonment, and rejection?  Are you convinced God will not forsake you? Can we have the same conviction that Paul had? 
• How does the gift of Jesus prove that God will never forsake us?
  
  

As we spend time with the promises of God in scripture, we have seen that God cannot lie, that He is good, and that He is always with us.  Today we add to those God’s promise that he will never choose to turn away from us.  God’s decision to stay with his children is His and his alone.  His faithfulness is greater than our feelings or our circumstances.  Believe His promises and believe that they apply to you personally in the circumstances you are living in today.  You are not forsaken by your Father.

Be blessed, be a blessing.