Never
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Sometimes you just don’t feel that close to God. You might even wonder if He’s still there. I interviewed several teens recently, and each of them told me that they just didn’t know if God was really there for them.
Have you ever considered the times in the Bible the Lord says He will “never” do something? In Psalm 9:10 says the Lord will “never forsake those who seek him.” In Jeremiah 32:40, we learn that “God will never stop doing good” to those who follow Him. Even more, when you receive Christ, you will “never die” but have eternal life. Finally, we know from Romans 4:8 we remember that the Lord “never counts our sin against us.”
God never leaves us. He never stops doing good to us. He promises we will never spiritually die or have our sins held against us.
These statements are true. Whether or not I feel them to be true, they are still true. My feelings about these things don’t make them more or less true. Imagine holding a rock above your head and then claiming you really don’t feel the truth about gravity. You drop the rock, and you find that it falls right to the ground, obeying the truthful rule of gravity.
God’s declarations in scripture are as true and operative as the law of gravity. Even if you don’t feel particularly close to God, you actually are. Even if you can’t perceive God’s love today, you actually have it in full. Facts come first; feelings can follow. Declare to your own heart the truth today: God is with you and won’t ever leave you.
If you find yourself asking, “Are you really there for me God?,” remember that God will never leave you—no matter what you’ve done or how you feel. He’s with you today.