February 25

Depend on Christ’s presence

“And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of” (Gen. 28:15).
“He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:5).

An old writer comments upon the above passage thus: “The Greek has five negatives, and may thus be rendered: ‘I will not, not leave thee, neither will I not, not forsake thee.’ The precious promise, you will perceive is renewed five times, that we might have strong consolation and vigorous confidence.”

It is impossible to conceive how words could be better arranged to express the unchangeable friendship of God toward those who put their trust in Him. Dr. Doddridge renders it: “I will not, I will not leave thee; I will never, never, never forsake thee.”
—James Caughey.


“With you”; not merely looking down out of the sky at you struggling in your work, but by your very side, closer than the nearest colleague, holding you by the hand, whispering words of strange power for you to use, and words of still stranger power for your own heart only, calming, and strengthening, and gladdening it; so that if you are “men wondered at” by others, you are a great deal more wondered at by yourself. You are so “marvelously helped,” that you “never would have thought it!” No, of course not; but, you see, His thoughts towards you in your work were much better than yours, and you can say:

And now I find Thy promise true,
Of perfect peace and rest;
I cannot sigh—I can but sing
While leaning on Thy breast,
And leaving everything to Thee
Whose ways are always best.
—Frances Ridley Havergal.

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