God Will Never Let Go
“The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The LORD is with me; he is my helper. …”
– Psalms 118:6 – 7a NIV
– Psalms 118:6 – 7a NIV
Several years ago, I heard a tiny little knock on my bedroom door in the middle of the night by Daniel, my oldest son. It was storming outside and the loud thunder and nearby flashes of lightning made him very frightened. So I got up and went to his room with him and I stayed with him during the storm. We talked about the loudness of the thunder in relation to the nearness of the lightning, counting off guesses as to how near the lightning was to us. After a while the storm passed and Daniel drifted off to sleep with his dad nearby.
When we face the storms of life, we all need to be reminded and have our faith encouraged to know that our Heavenly Father is always nearby to give us courage and strength.
During “Day 3” (Wednesday, June 11) of our Power Lab™ Vacation Bible School (Group Publishing), we had an incredible day with 104 kids in attendance “discovering Jesus’ miraculous power.” That day's Bible Point was “Jesus gives us the power to be brave!” (“Aha!”). And the kids learned about how when Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was able to walk on water. But when Peter focused on the waves and on the storm…blub, blub, blub—down he sank. After calling for Jesus to help, Peter was rescued by the hand of Jesus. Then they climbed into the boat together after Jesus asked Peter why he doubted (Matthew 14:22-33).
That’s my question. Why do we doubt and fear? God is pretty clear in His Scriptures that because He is with us, we have nothing to fear. And yet we worry and shake in our boots whenever the slightest breeze of trouble blows our way. Granted, many people I know have been or are currently in the middle of some hurricane-force storms of life through the loss of loved ones or through dealing with major sickness. Yet, some that I have talked to about how they are doing have expressed a strength of faith that has truly inspired and encouraged me.
When the waves and storms of life are blowing around us, can anything or anyone truly harm us if God is with us through them all? According to the promises of God’s word, THEY CAN’T! The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalms 118:6 (listed above) in Hebrews 13:6: “So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” (NIV) But what gives the writer of Hebrews such “confidence” is found at the end of the preceding verse, “…God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (v. 5b NIV), where he quotes Moses’ words to Israel and Joshua (see Deuteronomy 31:6 & 8).
When we have to face anything in life, we can have the confidence to be brave because God is always with us and He promises never to leave us. This was what the children learned at VBS in their “Power Verse” for the day 3 from Psalm 23:4: “I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me” (NLT).
By faith in Jesus Christ, we can rest assured that nothing—neither storms of life nor even our failures and sins—can loosen God’s grip on our lives. Jesus said in John 10:29: “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (NIV). According to Paul, it’s God’s strong love that holds us tight to Him regardless of what tries to pull us from Him. Paul wrote, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 NIV).
Therefore, knowing that my strong and loving God is always with me as my Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, gives me the courage and the power to be brave. There are no storm winds that are stronger than God’s love for me. God will never let go of me.
I close with the words to one of my favorite praise songs by Matt and Beth Redman, which the kids learned at Power Lab™. It’s called “You Never Let Go”.
When we face the storms of life, we all need to be reminded and have our faith encouraged to know that our Heavenly Father is always nearby to give us courage and strength.
During “Day 3” (Wednesday, June 11) of our Power Lab™ Vacation Bible School (Group Publishing), we had an incredible day with 104 kids in attendance “discovering Jesus’ miraculous power.” That day's Bible Point was “Jesus gives us the power to be brave!” (“Aha!”). And the kids learned about how when Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was able to walk on water. But when Peter focused on the waves and on the storm…blub, blub, blub—down he sank. After calling for Jesus to help, Peter was rescued by the hand of Jesus. Then they climbed into the boat together after Jesus asked Peter why he doubted (Matthew 14:22-33).
That’s my question. Why do we doubt and fear? God is pretty clear in His Scriptures that because He is with us, we have nothing to fear. And yet we worry and shake in our boots whenever the slightest breeze of trouble blows our way. Granted, many people I know have been or are currently in the middle of some hurricane-force storms of life through the loss of loved ones or through dealing with major sickness. Yet, some that I have talked to about how they are doing have expressed a strength of faith that has truly inspired and encouraged me.
When the waves and storms of life are blowing around us, can anything or anyone truly harm us if God is with us through them all? According to the promises of God’s word, THEY CAN’T! The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalms 118:6 (listed above) in Hebrews 13:6: “So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” (NIV) But what gives the writer of Hebrews such “confidence” is found at the end of the preceding verse, “…God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (v. 5b NIV), where he quotes Moses’ words to Israel and Joshua (see Deuteronomy 31:6 & 8).
When we have to face anything in life, we can have the confidence to be brave because God is always with us and He promises never to leave us. This was what the children learned at VBS in their “Power Verse” for the day 3 from Psalm 23:4: “I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me” (NLT).
By faith in Jesus Christ, we can rest assured that nothing—neither storms of life nor even our failures and sins—can loosen God’s grip on our lives. Jesus said in John 10:29: “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (NIV). According to Paul, it’s God’s strong love that holds us tight to Him regardless of what tries to pull us from Him. Paul wrote, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 NIV).
Therefore, knowing that my strong and loving God is always with me as my Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, gives me the courage and the power to be brave. There are no storm winds that are stronger than God’s love for me. God will never let go of me.
I close with the words to one of my favorite praise songs by Matt and Beth Redman, which the kids learned at Power Lab™. It’s called “You Never Let Go”.
Even though I walk / Through the valley of the shadow of death / Your perfect love is casting out fear / And even when I'm caught / In the middle of the storms of this life / I won't turn back I know You are near.
And I will fear no evil / For my God is with me / And if my God is with me / Whom then shall I fear? / Whom then shall I fear?
Oh no, You never let go / Through the calm and through the storm / Oh no, You never let go / In every high and every low / Oh no, You never let go / Lord, You never let go of me.
(©2005 Thankyou Music, CCLI License #1167348)
Thank you, God, for never letting go of me.
Thank you, God, for never letting go of me.
posted by Sojourner at 10:50 AM
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