I Will Never Leave You

Hebrews 13:5 God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.

         "Dad, will you please pray for me?"

          "Of course, son. What would you like me to pray for you?"

          "That tomorrow I'll get picked to play on the team. Every day, everybody else is picked first, and I am left off the team. I'm the best at throwing the football, and it's a game of catch that we play during recess, but I'm always the last one to get picked. Please pray that I'll get picked for the team."
        
         I indeed prayed for him.
         I prayed that he would be picked for the team. 
         But I also prayed that he would know how much he is loved.
        
         When he asked me to pray, my son was sitting next to me on our living room couch. His little head was nestled on my chest, and I put my arm around his shoulders. Such a big boy, no longer a small child, but in his eyes tears were forming, and sobs came gushing forth as he asked his father to pray for him.
        
         I am not embarrassed to say that as I prayed for my son, I also cried.
         I cried because his pain touched me. 
         I cried, because he is such a gentle loving little guy, and to see him hurt broke my heart. 
         I cried, because this is a pain he is feeling that I and so many others am so familiar with. The pain of being the new kid. The pain of being rejected. The pain of needing to belong and being left out. 
        
         I especially cried because I could not help him. He was alone at school, and I could not be there, to pick him for my team.
        
         How I loved my little boy, how my heart was so easily touched by his pain. I wished I could be there for every disappointment, for every rejection, to scoop him up in my arms and to say to him "Son, I love you. You are so dear to me. If others don't  see you for what you are, I surely do. Though others reject you, you will never be rejected by me."
        
         I am simply a human father, filled with sin and imperfect in every way imaginable. Yet I love my child. If I so passionately love my child, as flawed as I am, I can only imagine how loving my heavenly Father is who loves me more than I could ever dream of loving my son. I have come to firmly believe that the Lord never rejects His children. Because I believe this, it is to his heavenly Father that I directed him.
        
         As I prayed for my son, I thanked God because, though I could not be present on the schoolyard to hold him and be his friend, Jesus certainly could be. It is Jesus who never leaves us. It is Jesus who never forsakes us. Even though men may reject us, we will always be accepted by Him.
        
         Today, if you feel a bit sad or are struggling with a sense of rejection, take heart. There is One person who loves you completely, and that One person is the Lord. Turn your eyes to Him today. Cast your cares on Him, for He cares for you. He never will leave you, nor forsake you. 

            He loves you.