“I Will Never Forsake You”
One of my favorite hymns for the Lenten/Easter season is “How Firm a Foundation,” which has two tunes in “The Hymnal 1982” (#636 and #637; we sang #637 on March 17). For me, this hymn sums up the depth of God’s love for us that is so clearly declared in the events of Holy Week and Easter we have just observed. In particular, the last two verses of this hymn speak to me:
“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
The soul that to Jesus hath fled for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell shall endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake.”
I believe that these words capture the promise made to God’s people as He declared first to Moses and later to Joshua, “I will not fail you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8; Joshua 1:5) This promise was reiterated in the New Testament by the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews: “’I will never leave you or forsake you.’ So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6)
Since the New Testament was originally written in Greek, it can be enlightening to study the deeper meaning of these words “I will never leave you or forsake you.” When you learn the expanded meaning found in these Greek words, this sentence can be understood to mean: “I will never, no not ever, no never give up on you, abandon you, leave you behind, leave you helpless, nor shall I ever relax my regard for you.”
So, we can take heart. God will always be there for us. As the hymn says, “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.” If your heart is troubled about the future, grab hold of God’s promise: “I will never leave you or forsake you.” The same God who raised Christ Jesus from the dead watches over you and will not leave you or forsake you. Alleluia!
