Situations that leave us alone and abandoned happen all the time. At some point, you may have encountered the words, “I’m leaving, I don’t love you anymore.” “You’ve been terminated from this company.” “Your daughter was killed in a car accident.” “Your sister died of a drug overdose.” “We can’t be friends anymore.”
Heartbreaking moments like this can turn our world upside down leaving us to pick up the pieces with a big gaping hole of loneliness in the middle of our souls.
Yet we have a promise from God that He will never leave us or forsake us. God is at work in us, in our difficulties, and in situations even though trials and challenges will not always be removed from our lives.
Hebrews 13:5 is our promise and foundation of the love God has for us. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” In a world constantly changing because of the people, finances, and things around us, God’s promise to never leave us is encouraging.
Many other verses in the Old Testament include similar statements from God to individuals with the promise to never leave them. These individuals include:
- Solomon (1 Chronicles 28:20)
- Jacob (Genesis 28:15)
- Joshua (Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:5, 9)
- The Poor (Isaiah 41:17)
But there is more to Hebrews 13:5 — the full verse is: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”
Money, Stuff, and a God That Will Never Leave You
In a world where we were wired for community, intimacy, and relationships, getting hurt comes with the territory. Some of us get wounded so badly, we turn to stuff and money instead.
Why? Because surely having more money in a bank account cannot hurt us. Having a bigger home, designer clothes, or more cars cannot be bad right?
Wrong. It is easy to turn from God after someone has wounded our hearts. It is easy to fill our lives with nice, shiny things to distract us from the loneliness and pain. What we do not realize is the danger lurking around the corner.
The Danger of Money and Stuff
Let’s talk about money. Jesus says,
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19–21).
God spoke more about money than He did about heaven, hell, sex, marriage, and love. He reminds us, in Matthew 19:24 that “[…] it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
And again in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”
What Is Jesus Trying to Tell Us from These Passages?
If you have money and depend on it, it will kill you.
If you don’t have money but crave it, it will kill you.
Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6:24 that “no one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Money can be dangerous. We are to be stewards of the income God gives us because He is the One who opens doors for jobs, raises, and promotions. We honor God by ensuring every penny given to us is accounted for and spent, saved, and tithed wisely.
When our hearts are off-kilter because of some sort of hurt or wound, it’s easy to let money take the throne in our hearts instead of Christ.
Instead of entrusting our hearts and lives to riches and material goods, which will never fill the God shape in our hearts, He wants us to turn to Him and trust Him because He promises, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
There are dozens more of His reassurances in His Word.
1. I belong to Him. Christ is in me. “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27, ESV).
2. Christ is for me. He wants the best for me. “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32, NIV).
3. Christ is with me. He is always near and ready to talk to me. “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth” (Psalm 145:18, NIV).
4. Christ loves me. He loves me with an unfailing and unconditional love. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20, NIV).
5. He knows about my broken heart. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
God’s promises are eternal, and He will provide love, comfort, and courage so we can live an abundant life in Him and through Him.
Hebrews 13:6 follows God’s promise with the statement, “Hence we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’”
We live in a fallen world where we are bound to get hurt. But God will be there in our time of need. One day He will restore everything in a new heaven and a new earth.
We will be whole, and we won’t need stuff or money because we will have all of Him and live in freedom.
But until then, we can cling to the truth that He is with us, for us, and will never leave us. God will never forsake the ones He loves — this includes you!
For further reading:
5 Reasons Why God Will Never Abandon You
The Day I Understood God Would Never Leave
Can We Argue with God’s Promises?
Will the Holy Spirit Ever Leave a Believer?
What Does it Mean ‘Where Your Treasure Is There Your Heart Is Also’?
Does the Steadfast Love of the Lord Really Never Cease?
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