forsake

Never fail

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

Sometimes I like to look up words that I hear a lot. In the church, we often hear that God will neither fail nor forsake us. But what the heck does forsake really mean? It’s almost Shakespearean in nature.

FORSAKE: to quit or leave entirely; to desert; to abandon; to depart from; to renounce; to reject; to leave; to withdraw from.

As Moses’ time as leader over Israel is coming to a close, God is giving him a few parting words for Israel and for Joshua—the man who would take Moses’ place.

Be strong and courageous! Do no be afraid of them! The Lord your God will go ahead of you. He will never fail you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT)

All through the Bible, God tells His people that He will never leave us. He will never abandon us. He will never depart from us. He will never renounce us. He will never reject us. He will never quit us.

So why do we have churches full of people who feel far from God? God is incapable of breaking His Word. He can’t leave us. Could it be that we are the ones who have pulled away from Him?

Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites.

James 4:8 (NLT)

As soon as we turn toward sin, we turn away from God. In order to feel close to God, all we must do it turn to Him. How difficult we have made such a simple thing! There is no great secret to being close to God. Our relationship with Him works the same as our relationship with others—we have to pursue someone in order to have a relationship with them. If we aren’t pursuing God, how can we ever expect to feel close to Him?

Take courage, though! Be strong! God has already gone ahead of us. He may be just out of our line of sight, but it is never, ever too late to catch up. If we make it a priority to pursue Him, He is faithful. He will never fail us.

Daily Bible reading: Deuteronomy 31-32, Luke 1:1-23

Forsake

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Mark 15:34b (ESV)

As Easter draws near, many people around the world are made more aware of the events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus, the death and resurrection being the main focus. And so they should be. Without either, our faith is nothing but an empty shell.

In reading this verse again, I began to think of what the cross really meant, not for us, but for Jesus. As he was held to wooden beams with thick, heavy nails driven through his flesh and bones, he not only experienced unbearable physical pain, but, as he cried out, he felt the pain of abandonment.

What does it really mean to be forsaken?

To quit or leave entirely; to desert; to abandon; to depart from.

To abandon; to renounce; to reject.

To leave; to withdraw from; to fail.

In scripture, God forsakes his people, when he withdraws his aid, or the light of his countenance.

How would it have felt to know that your father, The Unfailing God, failed you? To know the one who would never leave has left?

Jesus felt on the cross what no other human being in history ever felt – to be completely and utterly forsaken. Never once before or since has anyone ever been so thoroughly separated from the rest of the world. And never before or since was there anyone less deserving to have endured what Jesus endured.

Next time you feel alone, left out, abandoned, remind yourself that you are not alone. You are not left out. You are not abandoned. Jesus endured it all so we would never have to.

Daily Bible reading: Deuteronomy 28, Mark 15:27-47