Last night, as I sat on my balcony, I
heard a young man say to his girlfriend as she was leaving his place to go
home, “I love you, girl. I’ll love you tomorrow.” As she drove away, I thought
it was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever heard. I wondered, had his
girlfriend been left by men before? Was she afraid of being left again? Or was
his love so overpowering that he couldn’t help but say it?
I thought about God. I thought that one
of the best things about God is that he will never leave us. If we have given
our lives to God, it is we who must make the choice to leave him.
Jesus said, “And
behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20
In the book of Hebrews, Paul repeats
this promise in Hebrews 13:6. I thought it was interesting Paul would write
about greed in the preceding words. He wrote, “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.”
Hebrews 13:6
At first, I thought it was a strange
thing to bring up right before God’s beautiful promise. But then I thought
about what it was like to be greedy, love money and not be content with what
you have. I realized these things would draw us away from God. If they are the
most important desires in our lives, we would soon be thinking of these desires
continually and forget God, or walk away from him. As Jesus has said, “No one can serve two masters, for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
My sister and I
are always commenting to each other how glad we have a God who always listens
to us and helps us. Problems that may seem small to other people are sometimes
huge problems for us. We both have chronic illnesses and when we have to do
some ordinary things, like take our car in to get fixed, go shopping, or go to
the dentist, these tasks loom like mountains before us. So, we ask God to help
us, to give us the physical strength we need to get through it, and he always
does. We feel sorry for people who don’t have his power and love to lean on.
This doesn’t mean
he says yes to every prayer. We have not been healed, people we love have died,
but we understand that we live in a world that is very imperfect. And if we don’t
have the strength to leave home, we don’t. But honestly, I don’t think that has
happened when we have had an important appointment.
I’m going to
write down a few more verses on God’s promise to be with us. May the Lord be
with you all.
“For I, the LORD your God, hold your
right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:13
“I am
continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide
me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:23-26
“Be strong and courageous; do not be
afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He
will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6
