Never Leave Nor Forsake You

I will never leave you nor forsake you ~ Joshua 1:5

For the longest time, I thought those two words, “leave” and “forsake” were the same thing, but the truth is, it’s much deeper than that.  The word “leave” here means “fail.”  God is telling us that the promises He’s made to us, He will not fail to fulfill.  He won’t change His mind and He won’t forget.  God is making us a promise that He will not fail us; He will not fail to bring forth the promises He’s made to us.  The promises He's made to you, individually, He won't fail to fulfill.

The word “forsake” means to abandon.  God will not abandon you.  If you’ve ever been hurt, perhaps by a parent, a spouse, a friend, you may understand what it feels like to be abandoned.  Perhaps no one’s ever physically abandoned you, but you feel cut off and emotionally alone.  God promises that He will not abandon you.  In the middle of the night or the wee hours of the morning, you are never alone because God is always with you.  He cares about and for you.  He will never fail you and He will never abandon you.  God promises to be with you, always.

No Fear in Love

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear *involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.  ~ 1 John 4:18

We know that fear is nothing more than False Evidence Appearing Real, but I’ll take it one step further and say that fear is a lack of trust.  As God’s Word says, “the one who fears is not perfected in love.”  God is that love and those of us who live in or with fear have not yet been perfected or encompassed by it.

This fear can be broken down into many different categories.  There’s the fear of abandonment, which keeps you from speaking up for yourself in a healthy and respectful manner.  There’s the fear of rejection that keeps you from standing up for what is right and true.  The fear of rejection can also be coupled with the fear of failure and/or the fear of success, all of which can keep you from fulfilling your dreams and God’s purposes for your life.

Fear is a great immobilizer.  God put warning signals in our brains to send out as messages to our bodies to keep us from harm.  Satan, however, twisted it to keep us from the things God intended for us.  One thing, above all others, that fear keeps us from is understanding and living in a perfect relationship with God our Father.  Because the enemy has used our earthly relationships with other the men in our lives—our fathers, uncles, brothers, husbands, boyfriends, etc.—to cause us fear in some way, we reflect that back onto Father God and we are kept from having the perfect relationship with Him—the One who is able to cast out all our fears and protect us.

If there is only one scripture you study and get to know better, make it this one.  Allow Father’s perfect love to displace your fears.  Allow His tenderness to sink into your bones and seep into your heart.  Allow His peace to overcome your thoughts.  Allow His joy to replace your fretting and grief.  Allow His promises to replace your worries.  Trust in His love enough to allow it to replace your fears.