Nobody Answered When I Called Your Name by Linda Maynard

I will never leave you or forsake you …Hebrews 13:5

I am not sure when I first heard about this, but someone asked me what my Life Scripture was. She explained that it was a personal “go to” scripture, which the Lord quickens to your spirit. She also said that throughout her life, her particular scripture was used, time after time to bring her comfort and reassurance from the Lord.

I wanted everything that God wanted to give me, so I prayed and asked the Lord for my Life Scripture.

The above Scripture was what came to mind. 30 plus years later, I can attest to the fact that the Lord did give me a Rhema Word that has been life giving, time after time after time.

So, this as we are talking this week, about what we had misunderstood about the Lord’s nature, it comes back to this scripture for me.

To tell you the truth, I thought it was a good one,when I got it, but not extraordinary. I could remember, early on seeking the Bible to see if I could find a better one. That was not a bad thing to do, per se, but that is not what the Lord gave me when I first asked.

Did you ever do that? The Lord answers a prayer or a request and you say “Lord, is that what you really meant?” and then proceed to look for something different? Probably most of us have.

I have to admit that there have been many times that I wondered, do I really worry that the Lord is going to leave me? Have I always been fearful about that? It surprised me a little.

We've so often based our perceptions on our Father God’s nature, not only on our earthy father’s nature but on our mother’s as well. Our parents have been joined as one.

That only makes sense, as Adam was created in God’s image. The totality of who God was fully resident in Adam. When Eve was fashioned by God, as she was taken out of Adam, they TOGETHER are the full image of God.

Over the years, I see just how much I needed to know that God would always be with me.

Without going into specific details, I believe I was led to believe that I would be “left behind” by important people in my life. It wasn’t a literal walking away, which sadly happens too often to some children, but it was a sense of love being withdrawn. I felt like, I would be loved and enjoy the presence of people who I looked up to…unless…I was not perfect or if I disappointed them. Then, I would be left alone.

We know words, positive and negative, have tremendous power. I can still feel the sting of being told, when I was very young, after I had done something wrong….” out of all of the children, I least expected this ( bad behavior) from you”

Ouch! That just about crushed me. As young as I was, I interpreted that as a departure. It also seemed so insurmountable to be this good little girl, that I was expected to be.  From that statement, I learned that somehow, I was held to a higher standard than others, at least in this person’s mind.

You know how we have the tendency to be told 999 plus times, we are doing a good job, but there can be that one negative remark that just does us in?

My heart, even now, almost faints at the thought of being left behind by the One I love so dearly

As I write this, I take comfort that God, unequivocally promises me, He is different. He will never ever leave me or forsake me, no matter what. I need to know that deep into the very core of my being. And not just once, but time and time again.

No, because the Lord says...

"Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between you and me and My love for you? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:"

"None of this fazes me because I LOVE YOU! So, be absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between My love for you because of the way that I embrace you and accept you and love you." The  Message …Romans 8:38-39 

( paraphrased)

And in this, the Lord answers my silent cries.

Super Sized at McDonalds by Linda Maynard

Linda…I will never leave you, or forsake you…Hebrews 13:5

In the years of being a Christian, this scripture has buoyed and strengthened me.

Even though it has comforted me, I had often wondered…why this one in particular?

A pervasive abandoned feeling affected me from a very early age. A while ago, I was given first hand information of why I felt so utterly alone, growing up.

Before that, it had been puzzling to me, because I not only grew up in a large family, but we lived in a 4 tenement house, which housed 3 more families of relatives. Up to 22 people lived in this tenement, at any one given time. It was wall to wall people. Each apartment had 4 rooms. Everyone was so familiar with one another that people walked in and out of each other’s apartment, without knocking. I remember only 1 time, that I was totally alone in that house

. 

Everyone in the entire house was gone for the day. It was so quiet and unusual, that, when it finally dawned on me, I felt weird.

Here I was surrounded by many people, and yet it was not my experience to feel part of one big happy family. Being embraced, seemed elusive to me. But, why? I wondered. ... It was mysterious.

What amazes me now, is that God saw my plight. God knew the very depth of my being. He knew what portion of His word would comfort me the most. There are so many other scriptures that I love and could “fit the bill” as a source of comfort and encouragement. But He chose THIS one.

Abandon ( synonyms) = Discard…throw away…disregard…withdraw…abandon…maroon.

Abandon (antonyms) = Redeem…rescue…save…retain…harbor…hold…reclaim

Here I am, saved for 33 plus years. The Lord continues to reveal to me just how intimately He knew me then and how utterly close He is to me now.

Does that make me want to dance a little and rejoice about being so loved and so known? You betcha’! And does it thrill me that I can tell another person, the Good News? They too, may be one who has no clue as to God’s love and care for them.

The other day, I had just the chance to do that. I was in McDonald’s. (It seems like the Lord has often chosen, either McDonalds or the Library, for me to approach people and say something encouraging to them. *grin*)

I was working on my greeting cards. Across the aisle, sat a young businessman. My guess is that he was around 40 years old. He was working on his computer. As I sat there, I felt compassion for him. I had thought of my husband and when he worked in corporate America. He had a high pressure job and was so diligent to provide for our family. I imagined that this guy might be doing the same.

We did not acknowledge one another. I left about ½ hour later.

Walking away, I had the slightest urge to talk to him about the Lord. Honestly, the prompting of the Holy Spirit was so subtle. It usually is. However, I continued to walk toward the exit, because I “reasoned” “why would this young, fairly decent dressed, guy want to hear from a woman, who could technically be his mother?” And besides, I was not “dressed the part” to be giving forth any Godly words.

So, I just pushed the Voice of God out of the recesses of my mind. My excuses made perfect sense to me. I even thought “Well if I missed this opportunity…there will always be the next time”

I got no further than the exit, when the prompting seemed stronger. In a split second I knew 2 things. One was, I had a choice. The other was that God was not going to reject me if I decided not to say anything.. But what tipped the scales to going back, was the realization of how much I love the Lord, and knew it was HE who was asking this of me.

I turned around and approached the man’s table. He seemed to shoot me a look of “Who ARE YOU? And why are you invading my space?” But having already committed myself, I initially said something about how I pray and God sometimes points out people to me, who He wants to encourage. “I just believe that the Lord wants you to know that He cares about you and your life”. Then turning to leave, 

I said “Bless you

To be honest, I was like “whew! Now that is over!”

As I started to walk away, the man said “Thank you!”

What has stayed with me too, is that as I got closer to the door, I heard him call out “Thank you”…3 more times, as the truth of God sunk in.

God chose to have an encounter with a man that day, amidst the Happy Meals and Milkshakes…amazing!