“And the
Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with
thee, he will
not fail thee,
neither forsake
thee: fear not,
neither be
dismayed”
(Deuteronomy
31:8, KJV).
The Lord will not
fail me or forsake
me. Wow. I forget
about this a lot. I
feel so desperate at
times in my walk
with Jesus,
especially during
the quiet times of
my walk when I feel
I am not in touch
with Jesus; you know
that fulfilled
feeling of Jesus in
your heart. There
are times when I
feel that Jesus is
being quiet in my
life, kind of
letting things roll
on without being
there. This verse
though, reminds me
otherwise, that He
goes before me, will
not fail or forsake
me, and I don’t need
to be worried that
He isn't there.
This is easy to
forget though when
in times of trouble.
Sometimes it seems
like the whole world
is falling all
around me. Problems
at work, drama at
home with the
family, health,
well-being, etc. It
seems that at times
the Lord is absent
from my life,
letting things go on
autopilot, leaving
me to face and deal
with the world
without Him, with
me.
This isn’t true
though. The Bible
says differently. I
just need to
remember that God is
always there, even
if it seems like He
is sitting on the
bench of life and
watching me stumble
and fumble
everything in my
life. God isn’t
sitting on the
bench. He is
standing fast,
waiting for me to
call Him into the
huddle for the next
play in my life. I
just forget to
invite Him to that
huddle on the field
of life.
Financial woes,
relationship issues,
family drama, health
concerns, etc.,
Jesus is there just
waiting for me to
stop relying on
myself, waiting for
me to invite Him
into the solution to
my problems. Yet
time and time again,
I try to do things
my way, try to fix
things myself
without His help.
I’m wrong to do this
because I should
know better. I
usually figure this
out I needed Jesus
in the equation only
after I fail and get
an “F” in my
solution.
When I return to the
problem and invite
Jesus to help me
out, things always
seem to work out for
the best and I get
an “A” in resolving
whatever issue or
problem it is that I
have. Will I ever
get over this
myself? I sure hope
so because I would
save myself great
grief and heartache
and stress if I
would just remember
that Jesus will not
fail or forsake me,
but He is going
before me, creating
the paths I need in
my walk to eternity.
I remember one
occasion that stands
out in my mind to
this day. It’s a
memory I remind
myself of when I
forget to involve
Jesus in my
solution, to ask Him
for guidance through
prayer. When I
finally did, I was
taken care of and
things worked out. I
was not forsaken
Him. Let me give you
an example.
I was a police
officer in Las
Vegas, Nevada at the
time. My wife
(former) had left me
and our two year
old, so she could
live the Vegas
lifestyle to its
fullest. It was
February of 1998 and
I was still in
training and
finished a ten-hour
shift, getting off
at 1:00 am. Before I
went to get my
daughter from the
sitter, my partner
and I stopped off at
a restaurant to
relax and talk about
our day. Long story
short, while we were
at that
establishment, six
gang members came
into the place (a
police officer
hangout) and began
casing the place.
Since it was late
only my partner,
myself, a couple of
patrons and a few
workers were in the
building.
The moment the gang
members walked in, I
got chills up my
spine and I looked
at my partner and he
looked at me. The
both knew the gang
members were casing
the joint and we
told the manager to
tell them to leave
because we both had
the he-be-jeebies
about the group of
kids that walked in.
When the manager was
escorting the group
of kids out, they
began beating him up
and dragged him
outside. We told one
of the workers to
call the police and
we gave chase by
following the group
outside. When we got
outside all six gang
members had the
manager on the
ground and were
kicking and punching
him. We intervened
and announced
ourselves as police
officers. The group
of kids turned on
us. Three against my
partner and three
against me; time
slowed down as we
fought our own
fight: six against
two.
They kept trying to
reach for our
firearms and we
spent most of our
time trying to
protect our weapons
while trying to
defend ourselves. I
got decked in the
face pretty hard by
one of the kids and
I threw him against
the wall then was
attacked by the
others while trying
to handcuff him.
We ended up letting
them go because we
were on the losing
end of the fight but
as they ran off, one
got into his car and
he tried to run us
over and drew a
weapon on my
partner. I took
cover behind a car
in the parking lot
and my partner
didn’t fire his
weapon due to a
pedestrian being in
a possible cross
fire situation.
Needless to say when
we dusted ourselves
off I was bleeding,
had shoe prints on
my chest and was
pretty shook up.
(Responding police
caught them up the
street.) I wasn't so
much shook up from
being in the fight,
but was shook up
upon realizing at
that moment I could
have been seriously
injured or killed
and who would take
care of my little
daughter? Her mom
was nowhere to be
found and I had no
family in the city.
I was greatly
troubled by this
thought and was
trying to figure out
what to do: keep my
job (I loved being a
police officer) or
quit to ensure my
daughter would have
a daddy. One night I
cried out to the
Lord, really cried
out, in tears and
angst. I was alone
in my apartment when
I did this. Then
just as clearly as
someone was standing
next to me, but at
the same time being
surrounded, a voice
answered me and told
me that I needed to
quit my job and
leave the city or I
would surely die. I
will admit that I
argued with that
voice but again as
clearly as before, I
got the same answer.
The voice assured me
that if I listened
and obeyed, I would
be taken care of and
need not worry about
what would happen
next. I turned in my
badge and service
weapon the next day.
The point of this
example is that I
was not forsaken or
failed by Jesus.
Within a couple of
weeks, I found my
former wife, served
her with divorce and
custody paper work
(she signed both
without question),
packed up my stuff
and my daughter and
stepped out in faith
and moved back
Oregon, my home.
(I want to step away
for a moment and let
you know at that
time I was not yet
saved but the Lord
was with me. Looking
back with 20-20
vision, I can say He
knew my heart and
his perfect plan for
me was just
beginning because of
my obedience to His
voice at the time
and other times led
to my eventual
salvation and to be
where I am today, to
where I am going.)
Jesus didn’t fail
me, not one bit. I
obeyed His command
to me and stepped
out in faith and I
was neither failed
nor forsaken but was
blessed with a
better life, a
better future. I
believed Him and
knew in my heart I
could trust that
enveloping voice
that February day in
1998. When I do
things my way and
fail, I just think
back to that day and
know that I can
trust Jesus to not
forsake me or fail
me and know that He
is working His plan
for me; I need not
be dismayed, He is
in control.
How about you? Do
you do the same as I
do? Do you forget
sometimes that Jesus
is in control and
that He will not
forget about you?
The times I need Him
most are the times
when I seek Him with
all my heart, mind,
and soul. I need
practice at seeking
Him for the mundane
things in life and
the small things
going in on in my
life. If He is there
to help me move the
mountains in my
life, how much more
of Him is there for
my daily needs,
concerns, and
problems?
It’s a rhetorical
question. Of course
God does not fail or
forsake us because
the Bible tells us
so. He goes before
us, preparing the
way for the plan He
has for each one of
us. All we have to
do is believe in Him
and listen to voice
via the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit will
not lead us astray
but will keep us on
the right path by
gently and sometimes
forcefully tugging
at our hearts to
keep us with Jesus'
plan for our walk
with Him.
God is constant and
consistent. It’s me
who is not. I’ve
strayed at times;
it’s me that has
forgotten that He is
there for me and
that I’m not
forgotten about. He
will never forsake
me; I forsake
myself. We all have
a purpose greater
than ourselves. God
loves and cherishes
each one of His
children.
Are you a child of
God? Are you saved:
by the blood of
Jesus? Have you
strayed or forgotten
about the power of
God and that He does
not forsake or fail
us?
We fail
ourselves and
sometimes we blame
others or God
Himself for our
failings. He is
there for you, for
me, for all His
children. If you’ve
lost sight of Jesus,
now is the time to
cross over and back
to His path for you.
Just ask Him for
help. Remember He
goes before you and
will not fail or
forsake you.
If you don’t know
Jesus, you probably
have felt pretty
small in life;
forgotten about,
forsaken by a God
you don’t know. I
know. I’ve been
there, and so has
every Christian,
before they were
saved by: the blood
of Jesus. What you
need to know is that
Jesus loves you and
wants you for His
own. Ask Jesus into
your life. Ask Him
to take you over
completely to be
His. By being one of
His own, you won’t
be forsaken or
failed and you won’t
feel dismayed in
life.
Jesus is the saving
grace that will take
you to heaven, as
long as you believe
that He died for you
and your sins. By
accepting Him as
your Lord and
Savior, you become a
child of His, never
to be taken from His
hand. I guarantee
that if you truly
seek Him and accept
Him in your heart,
you will be a
changed being. You
will be blessed in
your new self and
will feel a love and
power that you never
knew existed before
you knew and
accepted Jesus.
Take some time to
get to know Jesus.
First and foremost,
ask Him into your
heart and your life
then get yourself a
Bible (or dust the
one off on your
shelf) and read
about His life in
the first books of
the New Testament.
Let Him lead you
through the Holy
Spirit. Let Him be
the driver in your
life, guiding you to
where He needs and
wants you to be.
Don’t forget to pray
and to pray a lot.
Talk to Jesus daily
and place your
burdens on Him. Ask
for His guidance,
and talk to Him
about your day;
successes and
failures.
God loves you and
wants you to love
Him.
God bless.
john_lysaught@yahoo.com