“…I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Joshua 1:5
Dear Ones:
In Matheson’s great hymn, he begins with these words: “O Love, that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee, I give Thee back the life I owe, That in Thine ocean depths its flow, May richer, fuller be.” One of the great foundational truths or our relationship with God, and His with us, is this…He will NOT forsake us, nor fail us. From the moment that a person entrusts all to Christ, the Lord takes all that concerns that trust, and KEEPS it. The Apostle Paul wrote: “For I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” (2 Tim. 1:12) Our covenant God, who IS love, knows nothing of “faithlessness” and “failure to keep.” We will certainly fail from time to time, and may know something of God’s limited blessing because of sin, but there will never be an abandonment of us by Him. He told Israel, “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall NOT depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.” (Is. 54:10)
When Samuel was a very young child, his mother brought him to Shiloh, to minister unto the Lord before Eli, the high priest. His circumstances were anything but perfect. Eli’s sons, who were to assist him in the priestly ministry, were immoral, blatantly disrespectful to God, and were instrumental in causing the people to transgress the laws of worshiping God. In this context, the KEEPING hand of God was upon Samuel. It did not hinder Him from calling Samuel, speaking to him, and revealing Himself increasingly to him. Samuel would grow in such a context because the Lord was WITH HIM. Scripture tells us also, “…the Lord…let none of his words fall to the ground…and all Israel KNEW that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.” (3:19,20) The unfailing, keeping hand of God would be upon Samuel. And there would come a day when, “…The Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.” (v.21)
Dear Father, Thou Keeper of our souls, certainly You do SO much more than just preserve us. Your hand is upon us for good, as it was upon Samuel, in order to reveal Yourself to us, and through us, to others in this very dark world. We praise You that You will never fail us, nor forsake us. Thy commitment to us is without reserve, or retreat. Enable us by Thy Spirit to know such resolve towards Thee, that men might KNOW that Thou art God, faithful and true. We thank Thee in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad