Forsake
Word of the Day: Forsake
Verse of the Day: “And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.”
2 Chronicles 15:2
The word forsake takes on three meanings for me. In the Old Testament if you forsook God it almost meant certain death. It was widely used in the OT to show that God withheld his support or help. And it also means to give up something completely. As in sin. At least that’s the way I see it.
Some of these biblical terms have multiple meanings depending on how they are used and when (context). I look at the word forsake as if it has a positive or negative attribute depending on when it is used. Is more widely used in the Old Testament.
The more I read about forsaking in the New Testament, the more positive it sounds to me. I always thought of forsaking as giving something up, when in reality it is gaining something.
When you forsake sin, you leave sin behind, or turn away from it. And this can only really lead to better things, unless you replace what you left with more sin. Or if you forsake God - by turning away from Him, which is always a bad thing.
It is so hard to turn away from sin. I’m admitting it. Most people won’t. Most people will covet what others have. They will be prideful. They will gossip and talebear against others. But they will never confess it. And that in itself is a sin. Realize this, we will never be sinless, but we can sin less.
Back to forsaking. Forsaking means to give up completely - and for some, we can stop some of our sin. I use to drink, a lot. It’s a sin. I stopped it. It led to other bad things in my life and I forsook it. This is just one example. Other things, I’m still a work in progress.
When we give these things up and turn away from them and put our attention on God, we grow an everlasting fellowship with Him. Sure it’s hard to say “here’s my friend God” and have people look at you like your crazy. Unless they believe on God.
If you are a born again believer and you confess your sin, and continue it over and over, you won’t lose your salvation, but God won’t continue to bless you. Long story short, we should make every effort to live a life that reflects the glory given to God. And we can do this by forsaking our sin. It’s our job to glorify God, not His job to bless us. Too many people look for what’s in it for us and not what can I do for Him.
How do you do this? Little by little. It’s really hard to do all at once, trust me I know. The want-to is there but the will-to isn’t. And you set yourself up for failure every time. You’ll sit there and say, I’m never going to sin again - and nope, won’t happen. Everyone will sin. And sin again. Not an excuse, just a fact.
I will say this every single day until I die. Stay reading the word of God every single day. Don’t miss it. Pray, every single day, several times a day asking God for His will in your life. Surround yourself with like-minded believers. And lastly, go to church. A Bible-preaching church. This is your recipe.
“If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.”
Joshua 24:20
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55:7