"Never will I raise my voice" "Never will I become a drug addict" "Never will I get divorced.."
You ever look into someone else's life and say "never will that happen to me." I've caught myself saying that more than a few times, turns out that my never isn't secure, my never isn't reliable. I think to myself "I never expected to be in this situation." It seems like life contradicts our meaning of never.
When Jesus was telling his disciples the Lord's plan for him to go to Jerusalem to be killed and on the third day be raised to life, Peter responds "Never Lord! This shall never happen to you." Matthew 16:22
Peter then denies Jesus 3 times. 3 times he said "I don't know him." Before Peter was Peter, his name was Simon but Jesus renamed him "Peter" meaning "a rock." Jesus declared Peter to be a rock knowing he was unstable and would deny him but he saw Peter's POTENTIAL. Although Peter failed, he was faithful. He was the first to run towards Jesus when He was raised to life.
God knows things about your potential that you don't know, your parents don't know, your friends don't know. God sees your potential while others see your past, see your performance. But when God says never it's different than when we say never.
"Never will I leave; Never will I forsake you" Hebrews 13:5
After you survive all that hell has thrown at you you can trust in the NEVER that heaven speaks. People may change their mind about your potential but Jesus NEVER will.
"When will I withdraw my love from you, never no never. When will I change my mind about you, never no never. When will I walk away and give up on the plans I made for your life, never no never."
"While we were still sinners Christ died for us." Romans 5:8. If he died while I was still a sinner it means that he's still a Saviour even if I continue to sin. God has not changed his mind about you and your pain cannot negate it and your mistakes cannot negate it. He saw what he put in you and still sees you according to the original blueprint no matter how much life has tried to layer it with cynicism and doubt.
He showed me on the cross how to deal with the penalty of sin but that's not all he showed me, he showed me how to deal with my pain to let me know that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed.
As I'm sitting here reflecting how I got to the situation I never expected to be in, I think about the judgement I'm receiving, the embarrassment I'm feeling, the shame that's burying me daily. What I should be thinking about is Jesus. Jesus' unconditional love for us, how Jesus declares He will NEVER leave us. What do you do when you find yourself in a situation you swore you'd never be in?