HE ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT

It’s not easy to be unshaken by the enormity of cataclysmic events occurring in our world.

• A typhoon in Myanmar so devastating that we may never know its extent
• An earthquake in China that took the lives of 70,000 in just a few minutes
• California wildfires that are not being brought under control
• An economy that is teetering on the edge of disaster
• Gasoline/oil prices rising almost daily
• Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that just won’t end
• Iran’s president ranting and raving like a madman
• The collapse of a major bank in California
• The news media spreading fear like it was truth

And the list goes on and on and seems to grow daily.

If I understand biblical prophecy at all, these are the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:8) and we have not seen the worst yet. Does it seem to you that the tempo of disastrous events and change in the world is picking up?

As I reflected on the stressful times and was praying about circumstances that we are facing, the Lord led me to a wonderful promise. This is a word from the Lord that is as emphatic in its declaration of God’s care for us as the times we live in are difficult.
This is a powerful truth to wrap your arms around and hold tightly.
Hebrews 13:5-6 (NKJV):
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

In the King James Version the word conduct is translated conversation. Conversation used in this way is an obsolete English way of saying conduct or behavior. The meaning here is clear and we understand that we are not to be driven by a desire to get things, to clutch and grasp at material things, for we have been promised something far greater.

This is an emphatic promise. In the original language, it would read something like this, “For He Himself has said, ‘I will not, I will not cease to sustain and uphold you; I will not abandon you or leave you helpless in dangerous or hostile circumstances.’”

We could properly read it this way, “I will not, I will not, I will not let you down, leave you in the lurch, leave you helpless or abandon you.”

How many times in Scripture do we read that the Father gets this strong and direct with us? For Him to repeat three times, “I will not!” means He doesn’t want us to miss the message. He is declaring, “For He Himself has said, I am not going to run off and leave you like that loved one did just when you needed him most; he didn’t follow through even though he said he loved you. I’m not going to break your heart and leave you alone, helpless and without defense. I am not going to make a promise and then not follow through. I will not, I will not, I will not!”

I am not a perfect dad, not by any stretch of the imagination or use of flowery language. There were times when I raised my voice to my children. (I tried that once with Carol and after I did, I didn’t see her for a week. On the eighth day, I was able to get my left eye open just a little.) I tried not to raise my voice with my daughters when I was upset about something, but only when I wanted them to understand how strongly I felt about the subject under discussion—not in anger, but only in intensity.

I believe the repetition in this verse is God raising His voice and showing His intensity because He wants us to get the message. He is not raising His voice in anger but just like a loving father, He is reassuring His children who are being buffeted on all sides and wondering what is next. Wondering if, in this developing catastrophe, we are going to suddenly be abandoned, lied to and let down by Him, too.

Sometimes the only way to quiet a tumultuous situation is to speak loudly and sharply enough to cut through the commotion and confusion. He raises His voice to cut through the chaos so that He can get our attention.

When confusion, anxiety and fear are all around, then God speaks directly to you and says, “I will not, I WILL NOT, I WILL NOT abandon you, leave you helpless and without defense. I WILL NOT!”

(One of my sermons, "The Peter Principle" has been posted on the web site of a church I recently visited in Great Bend, KS. If you are courageous enough to listen here is the website www.faith4greatbend.com
Simply click on Sermons and then on the name of yours truly.)