We are pressed on every side
by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to
despair. We
are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are
not destroyed. – 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
This is definitely a ridiculous
thought, but what if God gave up on us? Where
would our hope lie? Who would we turn to
for help? How would we make it through
each day? I don’t even want to ponder on
that thought for too long…it’s much too scary.
Thank goodness none of that is true.
Thank goodness our hope is in God (Psalm 62:5) and His Son, Jesus
(Hebrews 6:19)! Thank goodness we can
turn to Him in our time of need (Philippians 4:19)! Thank goodness He’s with us every moment of
our life (Isaiah 41:10)! Not for a
moment will He forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6).
God will never give up on us!
But what if we gave up on
God? Wait….shut the door….hold the
phone….and say that again?! Sounds
crazy, right?! I mean, how can we give
up on God…the One who has loved, provided, and sustained us in our day to day
life? Sadly, there are many individuals
out there today who are doing just that.
God doesn’t give them what they want, provide when they need it, show up
when they ask, and so they just up and say “Forget it, God, I’m through.” They turn to other religions and others to no
religion at all. God wasn’t who they
thought He was. It’s heart-wrenching to
watch people reject God, use His name in vain and change their lifestyle to one
that isn’t God-honoring. And if I think
it’s heart-wrenching, imagine what God thinks.
I don’t even want to ponder on that thought too long…it’s much too sad.
We are a most undeserving
people. Undeserving of His grace,
undeserving of His mercy, and undeserving of His love; and yet, He gives it ALL
to us anyway. Through our hard and
confusing times, He is with us…holding our hand every step of the way. God is a giving God, but He’s not going to be
“Big ‘Ole Papa Bear” and spoon-feed us our every wish and desire. We are going to have hard times and we are
going to face challenges, however, God won’t abandon us (2 Corinthians 4:8-9) AND
He won’t give up on us while we try to figure out those challenges (Psalm 46:1). We may make wrong decisions and there may be
consequences from God regarding those wrong decisions, but He will still be
with us during those consequences, teaching and molding us to be more like Him.
I think a perfect example of
this is Moses and the children of Israel who traveled in the wilderness for 40
years before they ever got to the Promised Land. I have a strong feeling that somewhere in
the twenty-third year many began to wonder if God was even looking out for them. I’m sure some just wanted to throw in the
towel and follow someone else besides God.
Here they were…twenty-three years into this journey and still
NOTHING. Moses writes that the people of
Israel “complained and said, ‘The Lord
must hate us. That’s why he has brought
us here from Egypt – to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered.’” But Moses, as God’s messenger, said to them, “Don’t be shocked or afraid of them! The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you just as you saw him do
in Egypt. And you saw how the Lord your
God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just
as a father cares for his child.” That
wasn’t enough for the children of Israel; they griped and complained some more
and basically didn’t believe God was going to do anything which made God very
angry. Moses tells them, “When the Lord heard your complaining, he
became very angry. So he solemnly swore,
‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I
swore to give your ancestors.”
(Deuteronomy 1:26-40)
God gave the people of Israel
what they needed at that certain time in their journey, but it wasn’t good
enough for them and they definitely let God know that. They kinda/sorta gave up on Him. God wasn’t going to give up on His people and
He still loved them, but He had to give them a consequence for their actions…as
any father would do. The consequence was
that they wouldn’t get to see the Promised Land, only their descendents would. This consequence, I’m sure, taught the
children of Israel a very valuable lesson – don’t question God’s commands and
instructions. Obey Him and follow
Him. He
knows the plans for His people and will reveal them in His time (Ecclesiastes
3:11). He expects that of us too…we are,
after all, His children as well.
We are loved and valued by the
Creator of the very world…think about that for a moment! As our Creator, He is also our Father and we
must respect His commands and trust His purpose for our lives. It may seem like things aren’t happening the
way we want them to happen and it may seem like hard times are chasing us like
a cat chases a mouse, but through every. single. moment. God is there.
God’s not giving up on us, so let’s
not give up on Him!
Scripture verses used in this post:
- Psalm 62:5- “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.”
- Hebrews 6:19- “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
- Philippians 4:19- “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
- Isaiah 41:10- “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
- Deuteronomy 31:6- “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."
- 2 Corinthians 4:8-9- “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”
- Psalm 46:1- “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
- Ecclesiastes 3:11- “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
