Hebrews 13:5b - For He has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

What a promise of God to lay hold of!

Thank God in this cloudy day, when believers are distressed by radical uprisings against Christ and His church and by the weighty problems we all face, that we can have the same confidence God gave Joshua: "I will not leave you or forsake you" (Joshua 1:9b). We see how the New Testament nearly literally repeats these words and tells all believers, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." We have a New Testament leader greater than Joshua—Jesus (and did you know these two names have the same meaning?), who pledges to His followers, "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 19:20b).

There's double strengthening in the fact that the two Testaments bring us the same gracious comfort; that we have, in effect, a double promise! A single assurance from the Almighty is positive truth, but when God's Word repeats its rich mercy in almost identical terms, then certainty is added to certainty. Besides, this is a doubled double-pledge, for the two parts, first, "I will never leave you," and the second, "nor forsake you," really emphasized the same guarantee. Thus Scripture gives us a fourfold boost to our faith in this oversupply of divine love which marks the whole Gospel message of Jesus.

And God knows it's an overabundance we all need, because even as His children we are beset with sin and the temptation to sin, on all sides.

"But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more," (Romans 5:20b), God declares. No matter how grievously men transgress, however much they fill the earth with the terror of their crimes, Christ has more than enough compassion to cancel and remove their iniquity in full. His blood has purifying power enough to cleanse a million worlds of sin; His grace is sufficient for everyone, everywhere, and at every time.

Remember that when the world presses down on you, and you feel like you can't go on.

May the Holy Spirit show you what an unfailing Friend you can have in Jesus, when you take time to hear His Word, believe His truth, and trust Him, God's only Son, as your Savior. If you want undying love in a world where human love quickly grows cold; if you crave for faithful companionship when promises are quickly broken; if you plead for peace in a world of turmoil; if, above all else, your heart cries out for a certain promise of heaven, then listen closely today. God assures you and me that everyone who clings to Christ in faith will be blessed by this priceless truth of God's triumphant love: Jesus never fails.

THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, our faith is often weak and insecure. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit to believe in the never-failing love of Jesus. In His Name we pray. Amen.

From "Jesus Never Fails," a sermon excerpt from Rev. Dr. Walter A. Maier, the first Speaker of The Lutheran Hour

Reflection Questions:

1. Has there been a person in your life who's been with you through "thick and thin"?

2. Does God truly mean He will never fail nor forsake us, ever? How does that comfort you?

3. How has God been there for you in a rough patch in your life?

Today's Bible Readings: Jeremiah 27-29    Hebrews 5

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