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Not Forsaken



By John Lysaught

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“And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8, KJV).

The Lord will not fail me or forsake me. Wow. I forget about this a lot. I feel so desperate at times in my walk with Jesus, especially during the quiet times of my walk when I feel I am not in touch with Jesus; you know that fulfilled feeling of Jesus in your heart. There are times when I feel that Jesus is being quiet in my life, kind of letting things roll on without being there. This verse though, reminds me otherwise, that He goes before me, will not fail or forsake me, and I don’t need to be worried that He isn't there.

This is easy to forget though when in times of trouble. Sometimes it seems like the whole world is falling all around me. Problems at work, drama at home with the family, health, well-being, etc. It seems that at times the Lord is absent from my life, letting things go on autopilot, leaving me to face and deal with the world without Him, with me.

This isn’t true though. The Bible says differently. I just need to remember that God is always there, even if it seems like He is sitting on the bench of life and watching me stumble and fumble everything in my life. God isn’t sitting on the bench. He is standing fast, waiting for me to call Him into the huddle for the next play in my life. I just forget to invite Him to that huddle on the field of life.

Financial woes, relationship issues, family drama, health concerns, etc., Jesus is there just waiting for me to stop relying on myself, waiting for me to invite Him into the solution to my problems. Yet time and time again, I try to do things my way, try to fix things myself without His help. I’m wrong to do this because I should know better. I usually figure this out I needed Jesus in the equation only after I fail and get an “F” in my solution.

When I return to the problem and invite Jesus to help me out, things always seem to work out for the best and I get an “A” in resolving whatever issue or problem it is that I have. Will I ever get over this myself? I sure hope so because I would save myself great grief and heartache and stress if I would just remember that Jesus will not fail or forsake me, but He is going before me, creating the paths I need in my walk to eternity.

I remember one occasion that stands out in my mind to this day. It’s a memory I remind myself of when I forget to involve Jesus in my solution, to ask Him for guidance through prayer. When I finally did, I was taken care of and things worked out. I was not forsaken Him. Let me give you an example.

I was a police officer in Las Vegas, Nevada at the time. My wife (former) had left me and our two year old, so she could live the Vegas lifestyle to its fullest. It was February of 1998 and I was still in training and finished a ten-hour shift, getting off at 1:00 am. Before I went to get my daughter from the sitter, my partner and I stopped off at a restaurant to relax and talk about our day. Long story short, while we were at that establishment, six gang members came into the place (a police officer hangout) and began casing the place. Since it was late only my partner, myself, a couple of patrons and a few workers were in the building.

The moment the gang members walked in, I got chills up my spine and I looked at my partner and he looked at me. The both knew the gang members were casing the joint and we told the manager to tell them to leave because we both had the he-be-jeebies about the group of kids that walked in.

When the manager was escorting the group of kids out, they began beating him up and dragged him outside. We told one of the workers to call the police and we gave chase by following the group outside. When we got outside all six gang members had the manager on the ground and were kicking and punching him. We intervened and announced ourselves as police officers. The group of kids turned on us. Three against my partner and three against me; time slowed down as we fought our own fight: six against two.

They kept trying to reach for our firearms and we spent most of our time trying to protect our weapons while trying to defend ourselves. I got decked in the face pretty hard by one of the kids and I threw him against the wall then was attacked by the others while trying to handcuff him.

We ended up letting them go because we were on the losing end of the fight but as they ran off, one got into his car and he tried to run us over and drew a weapon on my partner. I took cover behind a car in the parking lot and my partner didn’t fire his weapon due to a pedestrian being in a possible cross fire situation.

Needless to say when we dusted ourselves off I was bleeding, had shoe prints on my chest and was pretty shook up. (Responding police caught them up the street.) I wasn't so much shook up from being in the fight, but was shook up upon realizing at that moment I could have been seriously injured or killed and who would take care of my little daughter? Her mom was nowhere to be found and I had no family in the city.

I was greatly troubled by this thought and was trying to figure out what to do: keep my job (I loved being a police officer) or quit to ensure my daughter would have a daddy. One night I cried out to the Lord, really cried out, in tears and angst. I was alone in my apartment when I did this. Then just as clearly as someone was standing next to me, but at the same time being surrounded, a voice answered me and told me that I needed to quit my job and leave the city or I would surely die. I will admit that I argued with that voice but again as clearly as before, I got the same answer. The voice assured me that if I listened and obeyed, I would be taken care of and need not worry about what would happen next. I turned in my badge and service weapon the next day.

The point of this example is that I was not forsaken or failed by Jesus. Within a couple of weeks, I found my former wife, served her with divorce and custody paper work (she signed both without question), packed up my stuff and my daughter and stepped out in faith and moved back Oregon, my home.

(I want to step away for a moment and let you know at that time I was not yet saved but the Lord was with me. Looking back with 20-20 vision, I can say He knew my heart and his perfect plan for me was just beginning because of my obedience to His voice at the time and other times led to my eventual salvation and to be where I am today, to where I am going.)

Jesus didn’t fail me, not one bit. I obeyed His command to me and stepped out in faith and I was neither failed nor forsaken but was blessed with a better life, a better future. I believed Him and knew in my heart I could trust that enveloping voice that February day in 1998. When I do things my way and fail, I just think back to that day and know that I can trust Jesus to not forsake me or fail me and know that He is working His plan for me; I need not be dismayed, He is in control.

How about you? Do you do the same as I do? Do you forget sometimes that Jesus is in control and that He will not forget about you? The times I need Him most are the times when I seek Him with all my heart, mind, and soul. I need practice at seeking Him for the mundane things in life and the small things going in on in my life. If He is there to help me move the mountains in my life, how much more of Him is there for my daily needs, concerns, and problems?

It’s a rhetorical question. Of course God does not fail or forsake us because the Bible tells us so. He goes before us, preparing the way for the plan He has for each one of us. All we have to do is believe in Him and listen to voice via the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will not lead us astray but will keep us on the right path by gently and sometimes forcefully tugging at our hearts to keep us with Jesus' plan for our walk with Him.

God is constant and consistent. It’s me who is not. I’ve strayed at times; it’s me that has forgotten that He is there for me and that I’m not forgotten about. He will never forsake me; I forsake myself. We all have a purpose greater than ourselves. God loves and cherishes each one of His children.

Are you a child of God? Are you saved: by the blood of Jesus? Have you strayed or forgotten about the power of God and that He does not forsake or fail us? We fail ourselves and sometimes we blame others or God Himself for our failings. He is there for you, for me, for all His children. If you’ve lost sight of Jesus, now is the time to cross over and back to His path for you. Just ask Him for help. Remember He goes before you and will not fail or forsake you.

If you don’t know Jesus, you probably have felt pretty small in life; forgotten about, forsaken by a God you don’t know. I know. I’ve been there, and so has every Christian, before they were saved by: the blood of Jesus. What you need to know is that Jesus loves you and wants you for His own. Ask Jesus into your life. Ask Him to take you over completely to be His. By being one of His own, you won’t be forsaken or failed and you won’t feel dismayed in life.

Jesus is the saving grace that will take you to heaven, as long as you believe that He died for you and your sins. By accepting Him as your Lord and Savior, you become a child of His, never to be taken from His hand. I guarantee that if you truly seek Him and accept Him in your heart, you will be a changed being. You will be blessed in your new self and will feel a love and power that you never knew existed before you knew and accepted Jesus.

Take some time to get to know Jesus. First and foremost, ask Him into your heart and your life then get yourself a Bible (or dust the one off on your shelf) and read about His life in the first books of the New Testament. Let Him lead you through the Holy Spirit. Let Him be the driver in your life, guiding you to where He needs and wants you to be. Don’t forget to pray and to pray a lot. Talk to Jesus daily and place your burdens on Him. Ask for His guidance, and talk to Him about your day; successes and failures.

God loves you and wants you to love Him.

God bless.

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Zechariah 12:3,9:
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people; And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
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