“Jireh, You are enough, always enough.” Hearing that song today, I began to think of what David said in Psalms 37:25, “I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”
“I have never seen the righteous forsaken.”
It was one of those moments when a scripture I have read or heard dozens upon dozens of times really hit me. Yes, I know the reasons that happens. The character of God is revealed through His word. It’s why we are encouraged to meditate on it day and night because it’s then that we think about a scripture rather than just reading it. Then, its meaning takes on life. When we know His word, it’s alive on the inside of us and will come to us when we’re dealing with the situations life brings. I hear the words of my husband preaching, “If you’re faithful to put the word in, He’s faithful to bring it out when you need it.”
I was playing some worship music as I was doing some work and the song, “Jireh” by Maverick City and Elevation was playing. I was listening and not singing! If I have AirPods in, (I still call them earplugs so my kids can make fun of me!) I don’t sing because that’s just funny!
If I’m in the car alone, sans AirPods, I am singing away and thinking I’m not too bad until the music goes off! Aside from that reason, I enjoy listening to the lyrics. It’s when I’m listening that I’m noticing the beauty and the significance of the lyrics. The Holy Spirit will sometimes use that as a way of teaching me. God will take any opportunity to teach us if we’re open to it. Hearing that song, I was inspired by one line.
When you have enough experience that comes with age, you can make some determinations and declarations. I can do that now and it’s the best part of aging; you never stop learning and you can also be a teacher. God wouldn’t let us age if there weren’t some advantages for us and for others.
That is what David was doing. As he surveyed his many years, he determined that neither he nor any righteous person he knew had ever been forsaken. That’s what hit me. Even when David had sinned, God didn’t leave Him. He could have easily done what some parents sometimes do and decide to cut you off. “You’ve brought shame to the family name. We’re done with you!”
How many families or family members are estranged? I think it is one of the most heartbreaking acts that can happen in a family. If there is nothing we can do to separate us from the love of God, then what gives people the right to abandon anyone?
Forgiveness never forsakes anyone.
If anyone had brought shame to God and His kingdom, it was David. After everything God had brought him through and the remarkable blessings bestowed upon him, He would have reason to forsake him after David’s forbidden acts. But He didn’t.
Perhaps Romans 8:38-39 tells us the reason why:
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities nor powers, neither things present nor things to come, neither height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
God is God! God doesn’t reason. Grace doesn’t reason. Forgiveness doesn’t reason. Love doesn’t reason.
Only people reason. They pronounce your judgment and cast the stones as though they have none. The stones today come in many forms, especially with the onset of social media. It is unthinkable how evil people can be—and to what lengths they will go—to destroy a person’s life.
People are victimized with no defense; one person’s word against another. It has added another dimension to the tense social climate we have today. Sadly, people circle gossip like sharks around a sea of blood. That’s the imagery I see and have witnessed and it’s despicable. I have a shark bite or two myself and it’s unpleasant, but I don’t touch sharks—or people that act like them. The worst thing you can do is jump in the water and try to fight the sharks off. Leave them alone and they’ll go find other prey if you’re not feeding them.
People need to do something constructive rather than destructive with their time and their words. Whether the damage comes in passive-aggressive disguise or is blatantly bad behavior, people are hurt and there is NO REASON anyone deserves that! I wish that could be as proven today as it was in the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11).
Jesus was teaching and interrupted by religious teachers and the Pharisees, who called Him Teacher, brought a woman before Him saying she was caught in adultery which under the law of Moses meant she must be stoned.
I love the unconventional way in which Jesus dealt with matters!
While the Pharisees, et. al demanded an answer, Jesus stooped and wrote in the dust with His finger. Clamoring with their discontent, Jesus stood and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned cast the first stone.” Then He stooped again and wrote in the dust. So when the accusers (notice all religious … just saying) heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest. (I am loving the thought of this!) I just wonder who had dirt on who (no pun intended). They slithered away until only Jesus and the woman remained. He stood and asked the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them accuse you?”
“No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
One of the most interesting facts I find in this account is that the religious leaders referred to Jesus as Teacher. The “sinner” referred to Him as Lord.
Who knew who? A person’s ability to spout scripture does not make them a follower of Christ. A follower of Christ is a lover of Christ and all He loves. That is all Jesus said to her because He knew her—the real her. He reached out in mercy and gave her a command to sin no more.
Jesus left the religious leaders and Pharisees speechless because they were not sinless. This is one of the most important lessons for all of us and it is so simple. I know I better take a good look in the magnifying mirror every day before I start examining the flaws of others. Nonetheless, this story shows us how Jesus understands people and how graciously He handled the entirety of the situation. In the end, as always, He forgives rather than forsakes.
I think one of the reasons I desire to know God on an intimate level is to understand, to know, and to operate in His love. Reflecting Him in any sincere manner gets His attention. Seeking the attention of man leaves you holding an empty bag of vanity and pride. Seeking Jireh leaves you with enough … always enough.
God our Father is a provider in ways we never even see because He is Love and to Him, we are enough … always enough too.
Before you even call on God, He has your supply, the provision needed for circumstances He is already aware of. Not only will He never leave you, He will never leave you forsaken. The two are quite different. I can leave my children for a while, but I plan on returning. To be forsaken is to be abandoned or deserted.
We need to never fear the loneliness of being orphaned or fear the darkness, for as John 8:12 declares, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life” (notice Light and Life are capitalized in the first person). Once again, God provides Himself as the Life and Light we need in the darkest times of life. We are never alone without hope!
God knows you by name. He remembers everything about you. He remembers everything you have done for others—every little thing. Things that didn’t seem to matter much at the time, mattered more than you’ll ever know. When you do something for one of His own, it matters to God because you are doing it to Him and for Him.
If you have ever put anything in God’s hand, He will be certain that you will never be empty-handed. It’s not just money. If you’ve provided for another, He will provide for you. If you lifted up a head bowed down with grief or sorrow, He will lift up your head.
If you ever steadied the hand of someone on shaky ground, He will steady you.
If you have listened to someone share their troubles, when others didn’t care, He will listen to your troubles rather big or small; seemingly insignificant or of great significance. The difference is, He will fix it because He saw your earnest heart wanting to fix it for another.
The most important seed that you can plant is the seed of yourself. What a harvest you will reap! In doing so, the things of this earth lose their appeal. Giving anything becomes easy because God Himself is the real return.
He will not forsake you nor will He leave your children begging because favor brings overflow. In Psalm 23 when David says, “my cup runneth over,” he is referring to his cup being his portion. But with God, his cup was running over so that he could give to others.
We often wonder how God could show us such grace. He certainly goes above and beyond what our minds could fathom. However, He is also saying, “Don’t sell yourself short. You showed grace to people who needed it but you also showed grace to those who didn’t deserve it. I was watching and I noticed.”
I believe, though I cannot see or feel, what I wish on this side of Heaven. But I believe what David said and what he saw in all his years: I know I’m not forsaken … not now, not ever.