God's Presence

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

These are the words of Moses. The author of the book of Hebrews also made reference to them. (see chapter 13, verse 5)

To know that our God will neither leave nor forsake us is a beautiful thing. As the children of Israel were very close to possessing the promised land of Canaan, these were the words the Lord had for them. But because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, these words are for us as well. He has not changed. As the children of God, we can be strong...have courage…be fearless. God is with us. He will never leave us. He will never forsake us.

The precious promise that our Father will never leave us means that He will never fail us, He is never slack or weak when it comes to all He says He will do. And He is never inactive in the life of the believer. This is very important to understand especially in times of challenge. As we see in the story of Job, although Job was under extreme persecution by the enemy, God was still in control and active in Job’s life – the enemy was not able to do anything that the Lord did not permit.  God has promised to be with us always.

The precious promise that our Father will never forsake us means that He will never relinquish control in our life story – His calling and those wonderful plans He has to prosper us and give us a future and a hope. He will never leave us destitute. He will never abandon us or loosen His hold on us.

The love of God is the impetus for these dear promises we see in His word – repeated, by the way, many times and in many ways. Having God present with us means that we get to experience the fullness of His revelation to us. All that the Lord wants us to experience, to understand, to express – is available to us as we walk in relationship with Him. And while we will not experience the true fullness of God until we are face to face with Him, the ways in which He reveals Himself to us on the earth, are quite amazing. He is awesome and it is humbling to understand that the sovereign Lord of the universe desires a loving relationship with each and every one of us. And even further, when we come into that relationship, He commits to be with us always and to never turn His back on us and leave us to fend for ourselves.

That’s beautiful.

Romans 8:38-39 - For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 139:7-10 - Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

Matthew 1:23 - “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Jeremiah 15:20 - And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, declares the Lord.

John 14:23 - Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Isaiah 57:15 - For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.