A GOOD WORD OR TWO

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." - Deuteronomy 31:6

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. - Deuteronomy 31:8

No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. - Joshua 1:5

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." - Hebrews 13:5

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It is good to hear or read something repeated a few times every now-and-then in life. For example, I believe we all like to hear - I love you.  Other phrases of positive reinforcement are I respect you and I think highly of you.  These are all wonderful to hear or read about yourself and they mean even more when you know they are coming from God.

Daniel was a man of God that heard "for you are highly esteemed" twice from God's chief messenger angel - Gabriel (Daniel 9:23; 10:11). Gabriel also visits Mary, the mother of Jesus, years later and honors her with these words - "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." - Luke 1:28 Somewhere along the line Lazarus and especially Lazarus' sisters got the message that Lazarus was loved by the Lord Jesus very much. John 11:3 says, So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."

God loved Moses and Joshua enough that He declared to them, as you have seen in the verses above, "I will never leave you nor forsake you". Later, the writer of Hebrews while instructing believers on the trappings of money, reminds his audience that Jehovah Jireh, God Our Provider, displays the same nature, blessings, and promises toward us that He did toward Moses and Joshua.

The Hebrew word for "leave" in Deuteronomy 31:6 is râphâh (raw-faw'). This means to slacken (in many applications, literally or figuratively): - abate, cease, consume, draw [toward evening], fail, (be) faint, be (wax) feeble, forsake, idle, leave, let alone (go, down), (be) slack, be still, be slothful, (be) weak (-en). [provided by e-sword.com]

The Hebrew word for "forsake" in Deuteronomy 31:6 is ‛âzab (aw-zab'). This means to loosen, relinquish, fail, forsake, leave, or refuse. [provided by e-sword.com]

The Greek word for "leave" in Hebrews 13:5 is aniēmi (an-ee'-ay-mee). This means to slacken or desert. [provided by e-sword.com]

The Greek word for "forsake" in Hebrews 13:5 is egkataleipō (eng-kat-al-i'-po). This means to leave behind in some place, that is, (in a good sense) let remain over, or (in a bad one) to desert: - forsake, leave. [provided by e-sword.com]

With this promise, with these great words toward Moses, Joshua, and now years later to us - we have the assurance that as a child of the Most High God, who has redeemed us with the highest price, He will never leave us nor forsake us. Never means never. At our conception and birth - He was there. In the still, quiet moments - He is there. In the times of discipline - He is there. At the moment of death - He is there. Think up any situation or circumstance you wish, but "never" still eliminates the threat of there ever being anything that could make Him leave us or forsake us as His Father, Shepherd, Savior, King, and Friend. Praise God! He is Always There!