He will never leave you!

For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV)

God has promised us that He will NEVER leave us, that He will NEVER forsake us. He promises He will always be with us, and won't abandon us, or leave us on our own. I love that promise. I think it's my favourate. No matter what I face in life, I have a rock solid, confident assurance that God is with me, every moment of every day, wherever I may be :) 

I'm not sure what you are facing today, bankruptcy, a broken family, a bereavement, a chronic illness, whatever you are facing YOU ARE NOT ALONE and you will get through this. 

It may take some time, but if you keep your head held high, if you keep your focus on Jesus, if you stay connected to great friends, if you choose to stay joyful and keep your attitude right, you will rise from the trauma, from the pain and you will be triumphant. God will restore you and redeem you and He will cause your heart and life to sing and to flourish!

One of the dangers of being in a storm is that we can become very self-foucussed. All hell is breaking out in our lives, we feel battered and beaten and we feel we don't have the strength to think about anything else in the world. I encourage you, in the midst of your pain, to reach out and help someone else. Smile at everyone you meet, bake a cake for a neighbour, offer to do someone's laundary. Bless someone. Anyone! 

Once you have experienced Gods hope and joy in your life, don't just keep it to yourself, share it and give it away to others. The bible tells us that "those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed". Step out and do something good today, for someone else. Healing comes to our own lives and hearts when we think about others, and not just ourselves.

When Jesus was dying on the cross feeling abandoned and alone, He gave hope to the thief on the cross beside Him. How beautiful is that? He would have been in absolute agony as He hung there, beaten, accused, despised and rejected. Yet, Jesus chose to reach out and minister to the man beside Him. Let's never forget that as we reach out to someone else, even if we may feel broken, betrayed and weak, God is right there with us. I believe that healing comes when we take the attention off of ourselves and choose to be a blessing in this world and to this world.

Jesus came to heal the broken hearted and to bind up their wounds. There are so many people walking around life with broken hearts, broken minds, broken homes, broken relationships and broken dreams. Don't let brokenness be your portion. You can be whole, you can be free and you can walk in victory. Jesus died a brutal death not only so you could live in eternity with Him, but so you could be free and whole today. 

Don't disrespect Jesus by clinging to your brokenness and bitterness when He went to calvary for you so you wouldn't have to carry it anymore. Choose to let go, choose to forgive, choose to move forward, choose life. I know it's not easy, I know the pain of betrayal, abuse, abandonment and hatred. But I refuse to let the devil drag me down. Life is for living and while there is a time to mourn, a time to weep, a time to be silent, a time to recover. There is also a time to laugh, to sing, to dance, to love, to give, and a time to be healed!

So what can we do today, this week to reach out to someone else? And let's NOT forget... GOD IS WITH US!! :-)