WRITTEN BY TIM LABRECHE
In their annual reunion, five men gathered around the campfire on a cold April evening on the shore of West Lake Okoboji. While cradling hot cups of coffee in their hands, they shared stories of what’s happened since the last time they gathered. Tale after tale brought much joy and laughter. With each story told, the laughter came from deeper in their belly and became more boisterous.
These men aren’t rooted simply by their common age, where they went to high school, or their favorite sports team. They have a unified thread of growing up in their faith together. There is a bond that goes deep with these men. Because of this deepened relationship, the conversation naturally migrated to something deeper. Some of the men shared how God is working in their lives. One man shared his struggles at work. One man told how it feels like God has abandoned him. He said that it felt like God put him on a shelf and has forgotten about him. This friend has gone through trial after tumultuous trial in relationships, in work, and in their health.
One of my favorite verses is Deuteronomy 31:6, which reads, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” In this passage, God (through Moses) has instructed Israel to go into the land he has promised for them even though there are massive armies that by worldly appearance could destroy and conquer them. God is telling his people to step boldly, without fear because He is going with them. In the same way, God’s Word has promised us that wherever we go, he will go with us. It goes on to say that he won’t leave us behind or forsake us. Forsake isn’t a word that is used that much anymore. When I looked up the actual definition of what it meant using the original Hebrew word, ʿāzab, it defined it as a verb meaning to abandon or neglect. Putting those together we can know that in the midst of a divorce, unmet expectations, or a financial crisis, we know that God is with us and that he will not abandon us or put us on a shelf and forget about us.
When we know without any doubt that the God who created the stars in the skies is the same God that knows the hairs on our heads and is the same God who will never leave us alone on a shelf, we can walk with confidence when those difficult situations pop up. In Philippians 1:6, Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” We can be certain that God will finish the work He has started in us. As much as we want that work to be fulfilled now, Paul reminds us that it will be a continual process until the day we’re called home to heaven.
This is God’s promise to us. He didn’t say that ‘if you do this or that, I’ll never leave you.’ God’s Word doesn’t have God promising to never forsake us only if we go to church every Sunday. Regardless of where we are in relationship to God, He still is with us. You may not have the relationship you once had with Jesus. You may have allowed the struggles in this world to distance you from God Almighty. It’s not too late to rekindle that fire.
As the men gathered around their friend and prayed for him, the man being prayed over said to God that he believed God has not left him. He asked for forgiveness for limiting what he believed God could do and for God to wash anew over him and to continually fill him. From that point, the belief that God had forgotten about him was gone. He could breathe deep with the confidence that he wasn’t alone and that he didn’t have to fight his battles alone. His God, the one true God, was with him.
- Do you feel abandoned? Put on a shelf? Don’t lose sight of the truth that God is never, ever going to forget about you. Hold on to that truth and don’t let our enemy, who roams around like a roaring lion, tell you any different. His goal is to distance you from God.
- When you hold on to the confidence that He will never leave you, don’t just keep it in. Take the time to thank Him. Give him your adoration when you’re going through the struggles. When we propel our praise to our Savior, it takes our hearts off the pain and the hurt and puts our focus on our God in Heaven.
- Do you want to draw closer to your Savior again, but don’t know where to start? Take the first step and call us at (712) 546-7544 and we’ll sit down with you.
