“…for He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” (Genesis 28:5; Joshua 1:5; Hebrews 13:5b)
“…the Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man shall do to me.” (Psalm 118:6; Hebrews 13:6)
There are times in the life of both young and old believers when the future looms dark and forbiddingly; when all our life seems to crumble about us, and our souls are overwhelmed with sorrow and with fears! It then seems that God is asking us to perform the humanly impossible. We feel weak and well-nigh overcome with the afflictions and troubles into which we are led by the Lord!
Surely this is also the case with you, young people. Yes, you are young and brave; you have a swaggering bravado about you. But all of us have times of fear when we need infinite comfort and solace. And we need to know that the anchor holds sure and steadfast in the holy place. We need to be reassured that we are safe and secure in the hands of our heavenly Father, the Covenant Jehovah God. We need the assurance that when our little bark is tempest-tossed by the mighty winds of sin and temptations, that God has control of the winds, and that nothing comes to us by chance, but that these experiences all come to us from the hand of our heavenly Father. (Lord’s Day 10, Question 27) Yes, herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness; yeah, and all things come to us not by chance, but by God’s fatherly hand!
O, but it did look dark for Jacob when he left his paternal and maternal home to go to Haran, fleeing from the face of his brother, Esau who would kill him. Lonely, weary and fearful he came to the place called Bethel where he lay down to sleep. And here, in this most frightening hour, Jehovah, the heavenly Father, comes to speak to Jacob, “And I behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again to this land: for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” Yes, “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”! (Genesis 28:14, 15). Now in Hebrews 13:5, we read that this is what He hath said, that is, He hath said this and continues to say this to all His covenant people-also to you, young people. This is His covenant word of promise. Let this be the anchor of your soul as you graduate from High School and from Grade School. As you step into the future and must make plans, and you stand at the crossroads in indecision and doubt; when you hardly know which way to turn, then say: He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake’ thee. Lord, thou hast said this to father Jacob in all his weakness and sinful imperfection, because Thou didst love him, love him, love him … to the end!
Yes, He hath said!
Jehovah, our heavenly Father, later, much later, said these same words to Moses. And we do well to appropriate these words by faith, so that we remain standing unmoved from the hope of the Gospel, also as covenant young people. May your father and mother exemplify this rock-like faith and confidence in the Lord, clinging to His Word of promise. Oh, Israel will need to cast the enemy out of the land of Canaan and they will need to fight the Lord’s battles so that the walls of Jericho come tumbling and crashing down. Israel will need to shout the victory cry of the coming of the Lord with the sound of the trumpet of God. And what “hath He said” to Moses, and by Moses to Israel? Listen, young people. May it ring in your ears forever. May you cherish this word in your hearts: “Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, He it is that doth go before thee: He will not fail thee nor forsake thee!” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Yes, these words are repeated (0, blessed repetition) in Deuteronomy 31:8b: “He (the LORD) shall be with thee, He will not fail thee, fear not, neither be dismayed”!
And that we may know that the Lord does not forget His own words, these very words are repeated by Jehovah to Joshua when he is about to bring Israel into the promised rest. When Joshua, as the type of Jesus, must bring Israel into the promised rest (Hebrews 4:8), then the LORD comes to him by His word. And here again we notice “that He hath said”. (Hebrews 13:s) He said to Joshua in human language, which was a Divine message and promise; He has said this to us in the Holy Scriptures, ” … I will be with thee: I will not fail thee nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I swear unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous.. . .” (Joshua 1: 5, 6, 7).
Could it have been said in clearer language and with more Divine assurance? Hardly!
Shall we now place our trust in earthly things such as silver and gold? Shall we have hearts filled with anxious cares, saying: What shall we eat and what shall we drink? Shall we set our goals here on earth to obtain earthly riches that we may have security? Shall we set out in education and in all our endeavors to amass a worldly inheritance of silver, earthly lands and riches? Nay, young people let our conversation be such that it be without love for money, not placing our trust in dumb idols of gold, but rather in the living God.
By our speech we shall be known. What do you say in the face of all these great and repeated promises of God? From the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks, does it not? What lies on top of our heart comes out first! Yes, we shall say: If God is for us, who shall be against us! We shall boldly say: The Lord is my helper in every time of need. He is my God, Who hears my cry in the hour of need, and Who hastens to rescue me. Yes, the LORD is on my side. I will not fear! Oh, I would be petrified with fright and trembling were it not that this great Jehovah is near to help, to succour me in my need.
Now we can be bold in our speech. We will not need to eat our words in shame! 0, young people, trust in the Lord at all times, pour out your hearts before Him. Yes, now we speak with courage in our breasts. We lift up the battle-cry in the midst of the conflict: the Lord hath said, the Lord hath said, and He cannot and does not lie; He will never leave us nor forsake us. He is as a Father who has tender love, loving kindness to us, His children.
Take that diploma in your hand now. Let this be commencement for you, a dedication and rededication to the LORD. Walk into the future with the firm tread of faith and hope, and in the midst of all fears that would assail your heart say: He hath said, He hath said, and His Word shall not fail. Yes, it seemed to fail at Calvary when Jesus was nailed to the Cross by wicked hands. But in that darkest hour, God said to us: See, I have not failed you. I came through water and through blood to save you and to assure you of the promise rest. I make a way for you through the sea, through death and hell.
Lo, I am with you even unto the end of the world.
I will never leave you or forsake you!