The phrase struck my heart. I was reading in Ezekiel where the Lord was going through the birth and life of Israel and how Israel started out as an abandoned newborn baby. The Message translation says, “No one cared a fig for you. … You were thrown out in a vacant lot and left there, dirty and unwashed- a newborn nobody wanted.”

“And then I came by.”

How many times in life have you felt like that abandoned child- helpless and nowhere to turn? And what a striking thought to think that the Lord notices us. He noticed a whole country and he notices us individually. The Lord didn’t abandon Israel but said “Live” and grew her up and stayed tethered to her throughout a history that included blessed times and times of great discipline. But He never abandoned them. He ultimately sent Jesus to reconnect with His people and connect with us all. And Jesus always took notice of those who cried out to Him while He walked this earth.

What does Jesus say to us today? “Do not let your hearts be troubled … surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”**

Throughout the New Testament Jesus assures us that He’s always with us, that He knows there’s times we will have trouble and trials and feel that we’ve been forgotten and all alone, but He tells us over and over again that He’s with us and He reminds us that, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.“***

Feeling beaten, distraught, abandoned, lonely, failed again, or fearful?

Remember: Our Lord is the God who sees and when we cry out His answer is always, “and then I came by.”

*Ezekiel 16:6, **Jn. 14:1, Mth. 28:29, ***John 16:33