“IM4SAKN”

1 And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.

2 And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

3 The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said.

4 And the Lord shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.

5 And the Lord shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.

6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

7 And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

8 And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. {Deuteronomy 31:1-8}

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” {Hebrews 13:5}

———————————

I usually downplay it when people tell me they’ve had special little messages from God just for them. I respond that way because this sort of thing can be so subjective and very personal.

It’s not that I don’t believe God gives us little “signs” or moments of special intercommunication in the realm outside the Bible — I do, sort of. But … my perspective is that He primarily reveals Himself to us through His Word and we don’t need to search elsewhere to “hear” from Him.

Why?

We can easily become prey and imprisoned by our need to “hear” or “see” things from God just for us. The truth is we can turn just about anything we want to into a “message” from God. We just need to be careful. That’s all I’m saying.

Now …

Let me contradict myself here a little, just for a moment :-)

I enjoy reading the different license plates I come across each day on my school bus routes I drive. I see several different ones each day. It’s enjoyable trying to decipher what they are saying.

Many of these baffle me; I don’t have a clue what they mean. Several of them bring a smile to my face. And there have been a few that have made me laugh. It’s fun.

But I’ve never come across one that affected me negatively or made me sad until yesterday. It said what I’ve put for the title:

IM4SAKN

Granted, I have no idea what it may or may not mean. It could be something that has a totally different intent of meaning from how I read it. But, it made me wonder what could be going on in somebody’s life to the extent they feel — forsaken. And then … tell everyone.

I’m the type that doesn’t like being left behind when others are leaving. I don’t like following other vehicles somewhere only to get separated and left by myself trailing every one. I don’t like being alone, period.

But …

Since I became a believer in 1973, I think I can honestly say I’ve never, ever, felt forsaken. I can’t imagine what a person must be feeling, experiencing, to come to the point of abject aloneness. That must be unbearable. And yet, that’s what the license plate said. I wish I could have talked to that person … offered some hope … if actually needed or wanted.

All of that got me thinking about, reflecting upon, my wonderful relationship with my Heavenly Father. No matter how bad, how difficult, — and, yes, — how alone, how forsaken I may have “felt”, I always knew that, no matter what, I was never alone. He will NEVER leave me, nor forsake me — EVER.

So …

As I continued on with my route, I did have to smile to (and at) myself and wonder if perhaps God had me “see” that license plate as a “reminder” of all I have in Him because I’m His adopted child by faith in Yeshua. (Galatians 3:26)

The same is true of you if you know Christ as your Saviour. No matter where you might find yourself in this pilgrim journey, you can always find rest in His constant and abiding presence.

“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor ‘4SAKN’ thee.”