DEVOTION – DAY 534

John 14:18 “I Will Never Leave You”

John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

In John 14, Jesus was preparing His disciples for the time when He would no longer be with them. Jesus assured them that when he leaves, He would not leave them to look after themselves just like orphans. Jesus promised that He would come to them. By that Jesus meant three things: 1) Jesus promised that He would be with them by giving His disciples the Holy Spirit, 2) Jesus would appear several times to His disciples after His resurrection, 3) Jesus Christ will return to reign and rule sometime in the future. Jesus had fulfilled 1) and 2) just as He has promised. We can trust that He will come back to reign and rule when the time is right. These verses are reassuring for many people who are facing problems and think they are facing it alone. They have the assurance that Jesus is by their side. They are never alone.

We have a friend who is a missionary. She answered God’s call to join the mission field. She was assigned to manage an orphanage in Kenya. There were more than 200 orphans there, many of whom lost their parents due to AIDs. It was not easy managing the orphanage with limited funds. But she knew she was not doing the work alone. The Lord was with her and she could always ask the Lord to provide for her needs. The Lord never disappointed her. 

She had to raise funds to rebuild the kitchen block which was falling into disrepair. She wrote to her contacts to ask them to pray for her and her needs. A prayer chain began. One of her contacts knew a rich benefactor and word was sent to the rich man to enquire if he could be of help. He looked into the matter and immediately wired the funds over to Kenya, and the kitchen block was completely rebuilt within 3 months. The missionary was so thankful to the Lord and to this kind benefactor. Not only that, he continued to send money regularly to support her ministry in Kenya even though he lives in Kuala Lumpur. Today, this missionary has been transferred to manage another orphanage and missionary school in Uganda. She accepted the new posting knowing that the Lord will be with her and that He would enable her to do mighty things for His glory.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for being by our side, guiding us with the help of the Holy Spirit. Please help us not to be fearful but to trust in your presence and power always. We humbly ask in the wonderful name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. How has the Lord’s presence in your life have enabled you to be at peace amid storms?
  2. Share of a time that the Lord came to your aid when you were facing difficulties. What happened?
  3. How can you teach your children not to be afraid because the Lord is with them?
  4. How has the Holy Spirit guided you in the study of God’s Word, and in convicting you of sinful thoughts and behavior?