He has already said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you”

Some time ago, something triggered a memory in my mind. I had seen a little child crying, and he refused to be comforted. He had found out that his mother had gone out when he did not know it. Perhaps he might have been asleep when she did.

Ilupeju, Lagos. In the early seventies, I lived with my mother and two elder brothers. I was in primary school. My elder brothers had gone to boarding school in the North. On a particular day, my mum had gone to work, and I had gone to and returned from school, which was a short distance from home. 

Usually, she would be back by about 5.00 pm, but it was now well past 6.00 pm and approaching 7.00, she was not back at home. I sat down on the doorstep of the house, became apprehensive. I began to cry. I could not figure out what must have gone wrong and why my mum would leave me ‘home alone.’ Whiskey, our lovely little dog, was there, but it offered no consolation.

To cut the story short, my mum drove in with her bright red Toyota Corolla LAA 104 (that was the registration number) in a rush. “Sorry, I went to your school’s PTA meeting from work. It lasted a little longer than I thought it would.” 

It was not so much of her explanation that was important. What gave me consolation was the fact that she was back home and present with me. I had felt very lonely and abandoned because my mum was not there when she was supposed to. The night was coming in, I was afraid. What I did not know was that she was attending to matters that concerned me. 

Many times in our Christian walk, it seems God is not there and it is getting dark. Sometimes, ‘the night’ even falls upon us. We become apprehensive and occasionally confused. Time is running out and the worst could happen. We feel abandoned by the same God who said He loved us and would never forsake us. Anxiety sets in.

Someone has said that worry is thinking about the future without God in it. That future could be tomorrow or ten years from now. In your thinking, you see no way out of a present situation or perhaps of a future projection of your life based on your present circumstances. 

Because there is no way out in your mind, you are unable to perceive or chart a way forward. When we do not factor God, His care and His presence into our thoughts about the future, anxiety takes the place of trust. 

Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote the song Because He lives, sometime in the sixties during a time of turmoil and anxiety after which God brought peace to their hearts.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because He lives.

Anxiety and fear can have a destabilising effect on your thinking patterns. They can stop you from thinking straight. You may even lose focus and balance.

What might be causing anxieties in your life today? Is it a loved one with a serious health challenge; a marriage relationship has gone sour; insufficient time and resources to finish a vital project; the inability to make ends meet because of a rising cost of basics and a salary shrunken by inflation or worse the possibility of losing your job or business. 

It would not have been so bad if it were not for that nagging fear, the gut feeling that things may not work out, right. You are all alone. You assume God may not be on your case. The apprehension: you know He can, but will He do it for you on time, if at all. 

I do not intend to sound insensitive. The truth, however, is that worry or anxiety does not solve any problems. Instead, it puts your mind under so much stress that you can hardly think of or hear solutions or ideas God may be trying to pass across to you. 

We should not worry. Instead, we should think, and our thinking should be in the direction of possible solutions. But thinking straight in a state of worry is almost an impossibility. It is a mental and emotional dilemma. 

Worrying not only hinders the mind from productive thinking, but it also negates prayer. In my book “Fulfilling Your Destiny,” I stated that, “Praying and worrying at the same time, is incompatible with the hearts of men. If you worry always then prayer is useless, but if you pray always then worry is needless.”

Philippians 4:6-9 offers a remedy to worry or anxiety. A command is first given and then how to go about the command is explained, we are finally told the results that would follow. 

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

First, stop the worrying on its tracks. It means you can control what happens or stays in your mind. The next thing to do is tell God what it is that is disturbing your heart. Pour out your heart before Him, then ask Him what it is you want, undergird both prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. 

The result of this would be peace. Peace would guard your heart against further anxiety because anxiety is turmoil in the heart. Peace would bring that turmoil under control. And you can now replace the anxious thoughts with thoughts of things that are true, noble just, pure and so on. Meditate on them and the peace of God will be with you, and then your mind will be cleared to hear and receive guidance from the Lord. 

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Dear friend, no matter what it is you might be going through God still loves you. He has not forsaken you. That you do not feel His presence does not mean that He is no longer with you. HE IS! Let us put it this way, He is attending to matters that concern you, and He will ultimately make all things walk together for your good. 

Believe His promise. His word is more certain than the present challenging situations in your life. “He has already said “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  You can always confess along with King David, “I will not be afraid, because the Lord is with me. People can’t do anything to me. The Lord is with me to help me…” 

I pray that the Lord would strengthen you with His encouragement always, and bring solutions to any challenges you may be facing, guiding you along the way.

Do not worry about anything instead pray about everything!

Thank you. Do not forget to keep living, loving and learning.

References:

Hebrews 13:5; Philippians 4:6-9, NKJV; Psalm 118: 6-7, NCV. Romans 6:28; Philippians 4:6, NLT.

Solomon A. Aror, Fulfilling Your Destiny: Breaking Away from Your Past into Fulfilling God’s Plan and Purpose for Your Life, Wordworth International (c) 2004.