"I'm Here"
God will never willingly walk away from you, nor can he accidentally leave you behind.
“I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” That’s a promise from God repeated in the Bible for emphasis. Perhaps you’ll benefit from a bit more of an explanation about what those words mean.
Those two words “leave” and “forsake” in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament in the Bible give us a vivid picture of God’s intent.
“Leave” literally means “let you sink” or “let you go,” and brings to mind a person in terrible danger of falling off the edge of a cliff (picture yourself) and you are hanging on for your life to another hand that has reached down to catch you, clasped together with yours. Picture your feet dangling in mid air, the rocky earth hundreds of feet below and the only hope you have is this other hand. Your hand is trembling, losing its strength, as you are losing your grip you look up to receive some sign of assurance and strength from your rescuer. You lift up your head, and there is the hand of God - firm, strong, unmoving, grabbing you, lifting you to safety. So God promises, "I will never let go.”
The word “forsake” literally means “leave behind,” and gives us the picture of someone who has good intentions of remembering something but just forgets about it, like locking your keys in your car. So God tells us, “I will never absent-mindedly leave you behind.”
A twofold promise, to be sure. On the one hand, we have greater confidence in God because he won’t willingly walk away from any who call on him. On the other hand, we have greater confidence in God because he can’t accidentally let us slip or forget about us. He just calmly looks at us, and once again says, “I’m here.”
PRAYER: You’ve made me doubly sure, gracious God, that you are always here. Still my fears that make me worry so, and tell them you are here. Chase away my guilt that makes me regret what I’ve done, and tell it you are here. Cover my shame with your righteousness, and tell it you are here. Gather all your promises to protect me, and tell them you are here. Amen.