God Never Leaves

Read: Psalm 34:18; Matthew 28:20

Maya watched the windshield wipers sweep away the raindrops as she brushed away her tears. The autumn sky was gray as they drove home from her grandma’s funeral.

“Why did God let Grandma die, Mom?” Maya asked.

Mom turned around, and Dad looked at her in the rearview mirror with sad eyes.

“Cancer kills a lot of people, Maya,” said Mom. “Grandma loved Jesus and had a long and beautiful life.”

“But why didn’t God heal her? Where was He?”

“I don’t know why God didn’t heal Grandma,” Mom replied. “But I know she’s in heaven with Jesus. I also know that Jesus is right here with us. The Bible says that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and that He never leaves us.”

Maya slumped in her seat, and Mom patted her knee. “I’ll show you something that Grandma taught me when we get home.”

Dad pulled into the driveway, and Mom kissed his cheek. “Why don’t you make three mugs of hot chocolate while Maya and I take a field trip to the backyard?”

Maya followed Mom and watched her gather a handful of colorful leaves. “When I was your age, Grandma taught me why leaves change color in the fall. Leaves are green because of special green stuff inside them called chlorophyll. The chlorophyll takes the sun’s energy and turns it into food for the tree. When the days get shorter in the fall, there’s not enough sunlight for the tree to keep making food, so the chlorophyll gets pulled inside the tree. When the green chlorophyll goes away, the beautiful orange and yellow colors show through.”

“So the orange and yellow colors were there all along, you just couldn’t see them because of all the green?” Maya asked.

“You got it. Grandma said that just like those orange and yellow colors, Jesus is with us even when we can’t see Him. She helped me press some orange and yellow leaves in the pages of my Bible to remind me that God never ‘leaves’ us.” She handed Maya the leaves she was holding. “I think we should do the same thing with these.”

Maya looked down at the leaves in her hand. “Okay,” she said. “But after we’ve had some hot chocolate!”

–Jared Hottenstein

How about you? Has something painful happened in your life that you don’t understand? Following Jesus doesn’t mean you won’t ever go through difficult experiences. There will be times in your life when it seems like God is far away, but the Bible promises that He’s always close to you, even when it doesn’t feel like it. No matter what you go through or how you feel, He never leaves.

Today's Key Verse: The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: God never leaves