It seems like a lifetime ago when my good friend and I sat at a park bench while our toddlers played in the sandbox. We shared details of our hectic days and even chatted about stuff that intimidated us.

Are you kidding?” I said, “I could never travel to another country by myself and stay in a hotel alone. No way!”

“I wouldn’t either,” she said.

God was listening. And He was probably smiling. “If they only knew….”

Well, I had no clue that my eyesight would be gone only two years later. I never expected blindness at 31. I never imagined caring for my three little boys with no sight at all.

Eventually, I pushed aside all the never reflections that focused on the negative. Instead, for the decades that followed, I saw the supernatural way in which God erases fear and with the pen of His love, writes faith in our hearts.

That’s why years after that day in the park bench with my friend, my attitude changed. Because of God’s grace, I’m able to travel across the country alone and feel comfortable in hotel rooms by myself.

So…never say never.

Another kind of never.

But you and I need to check out another kind of never. God speaks it. He does so with a divine force. With a mighty strength. With His voice that thunders through the walls of our soul.

Here are five places where He repeats His never promises:

• No. 1. When another shocking news strikes and makes you stumble with worry, He will rescue you, “and he will sustain you; he will NEVER let the righteous fall” (Psalm 55:22).
  
  Father, I will count on Your hand that sustains me so I will never fall. I will trust on Your love that surrounds me so I’ll never be defeated.
  
• No. 2. When you fret about the future because your security is shaken. That’s when your thoughts turn to Him and that’s when your lips can echo the psalmist’s words: “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress; I will NEVER be shaken” (Psalm 62:1-2).
  
  Father, I vow that no matter the situation, the pain or heartache, I will not be shaken. I will stand firm because You are my stronghold and my ever-present help in trouble.
  
• No. 3. If those you love turn their back and fail you. And if you taste the bitterness of rejection, confidence still surrounds you “For the LORD will not reject his people; he will NEVER forsake his inheritance” (Psalm 92:14).
  
  Father, comfort fills me knowing that You never reject me. Even with my sins from the past, the failures of yesterday and flaws that I still have, you still call my name and you still count on me as Your inheritance, one You will never, never forsake or abandon.
  
• No. 4. When the army of adversity attacks you, leaves you confused or discouraged, God has the same never promise for you as He did for Joshua. “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will NEVER leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5).
  
  Father, like Joshua, I sometimes feel I’m heading toward unfamiliar territory. I’m about to face unknown dangers and fear I’ll encounter enemies seemingly more powerful and me. But I choose to receive Your promise that no one can stand up against me. You will be with me and no matter what happens at the other side of adversity, you will never leave me.
  
• No. 5. When consolation is nowhere to be found. And your heart hungers for encouragement, and your soul thirsts for reassurance, Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will NEVER go hungry, and he who believes in me will NEVER be thirsty” (John 6:35).
  
  Father, You know my heart, You see my ways and You know also my thoughts. And I wait in expectation for what my heart longs for, You will fill. And what my soul desires, You will satisfy. I drink of Your living water that revives me and gives me fresh hope.
  
  A Question to Ask Yourself
  
  Which of God’s promises will you make your own today?
  
  Janet
  
  Janet Perez Eckles
  www.janetperezeckles.com