July 6, 2021: Never Forsaken

“Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; have mercy on me, and hear my prayer” (Ps. 4:1, NKJV).

When I was 3 years old, my mother left me with family in Guatemala to immigrate to the United States. She wanted to give me a better future. My aunt guided me in the ways of God, but I asked Him why my mother left me. I suffered every Mother’s Day because all my friends hugged their mothers and gave them gifts, and I did not have my mother. I could not tell her about my sufferings. When I felt alone or needed a hug, she was not there.

I began asking God to hug me to give me strength, but I didn’t feel any answers to my prayers. One day, a friend offered me drugs, and I accepted. My friend told me that with drugs I would forget all my problems. I kept doing drugs for a few years, until I had a dream that showed me that God did not want that for me; He wanted something better. I felt like I had spoiled everything and had disappointed my family and God. But I was still loved.

Sometimes, God doesn’t give us answers to our questions right away, but He will answer them in His time. God does not work within human logic; He works within His logic. Maybe you think He has forgotten you, but He will never forget you. God tells you to cry to Him, and He will answer you. He always listens when you humbly kneel and tell Him everything you feel in your heart. He will never leave you alone.

Father, thank You for promising to never leave us or forsake us. Amen.

Erick Hernandez is a freshman at Richmond Academy in Virginia.