“They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them. Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, And said, ‘This is your god That brought you up out of Egypt,’ And worked great provocations, Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go. You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst. Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell” (Nehemiah 9:17-21, NKJV).

He did not forsake them, but continued to show them in the way they should go. He didn’t pluck them up and drop them in the Promised Land. They don’t get to skip the following God and walking in His ways part. They had to continue to follow Him to get there. God won’t give up on you because you sinned and rebelled. He will continue to show you the way in which you should go, but you have to walk in it. It’s the paths of righteousness that He leads us on, and they lead to eternal dwellings, but we have to walk that path to get there.

He will show us the way. He won’t give up shining His light on the path, but we have to choose to walk it. He doesn’t even just point the way and leave you to it. He gives His Spirit to be with you and guide you and instruct you in the way, and provides for your needs and cares for you down to the tips of your toes.

He will do all that He can to bring you safely home to Himself. Just choose to go with Him!