As Christians we can rely on this promise when we find ourselves far away from God because of our own choices and actions or when we are in the midst of life’s challenges.
Deuteronomy 31:8 The Lord goes before you and He will never leave you or forsake you do not be afraid or discouraged.
We quote it and write it on our hearts. We stand on it when we are just that: afraid and discouraged! The promise helps remind us that our God is always with us and is working for us even when we are not seeking Him. In Psalms 22 we find King David, the man that is known for being a man after God’s own heart, crying out in despair. My God, my God why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? David was being persecuted, rejected by friends and could not feel the presence of God. Like David, Jesus did not doubt God but was urgently appealing to Him to be able to feel His presence that day He hung on the cross. The Word tells us the reason God sent His Son was to bare our sins- to reunite us with Himself. Jesus being a man had His own free will to decide His choices. He knew what it would cost Him to complete the task of salvation for the world, physical and emotional pain and most of all separation from the Father.
With all the punishment Jesus endured in His body from the men of the world and the disappointment from His closest circle not once did He cry out or ask God or a reprieve from His task. He did not fight back or curse them. Only when Jesus could not feel God’s presence in that ninth hour, the hour He took our sin upon Himself did Jesus cry out. That is the cost of sin! To be separated from the presence of God. When we sin we separate ourselves from God’s presence. He does not separate Himself from us. He never leaves us, we leave Him. He is always right there waiting for our return.
So, in your ninth hour when you cry out to God be assured He is right there with you just as He was right there on the third day when Jesus rose from the dead and ascended up to heaven to sit at God’s right hand. He will be right there waiting for your return. Because Jesus bore our sins on the cross that day. Because He paid our debt and reunited us to God we have the assurance of God’s presence always. All we have to do is call out to Him. Always remember His promise, He will never leave you or forsake you.
