Left Behind

February 11

Have you ever been left behind? Ever been abandoned by someone who should have loved you? Perhaps you were given up at birth by parents who didn’t have the means to raise you and wanted you to have a mother and father who could lavish you with the good things they could not provide to you.

Perhaps you were abandoned by a spouse who grew tired of you. A lifetime partner who found in a ‘soul-mate’ the excitement he no longer felt in you. Instead of journeying together with him, you found yourself charting the course of your life alone. Perhaps death claimed the one who promised to love you forever. The void is gaping either way.

There are many circumstances that come in life to render our journey through this Vale of Tears a lonely one. There are more scenarios than we can fathom unless we find ourselves encountering them. But, the reality is, no matter how profoundly we may perceive ourselves to be abandoned and alone, we never are. The One who fashioned us for Himself has promised that His love and protection will never leave us, that He will always, “…go with us and give us rest.” (Exodus 33:14)

In Deuteronomy 31:6 He says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid…for the Lord your God is with you. He will never leave or forsake you.” This promise is reiterated almost verbatim in Hebrews 13:5 where Paul writes, “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” Because He wants you to be assured that His presence and power are extended to you, He has woven that beautiful truth through His never-failing Word.