We’ve taken to watching some of them there western movies at our place lately.  The typical story of the battle between good and evil always ending with god winning, is a nice refreshing change from the way of the world.  Of course there’s always a share of gun slinging and a badge involved.  In the movie, “High Noon,” we find the local sheriff getting married and on the same day involved in a gunfight for his life.

Gary Cooper played the sheriff and his lovely wife was Grace Kelly.  The song that came from that movie was called, “Oh, Don’t Forsake Me, Oh, My Darling.” The first and last verses are as follows:

Do not forsake me, oh my darling
On this our wedding day
Do not forsake me, oh my darling
Wait, wait along
I do not know what fate awaits me
I only know I must be brave
For I must face a man who hates me
Or die a coward, a craven coward
Or die a coward in my grave

Do not forsake me, oh my darling
You make that promise as a bride
Do not forsake me, oh my darling
Although you’re grievin’, don’t think of leaving
Not while I need you by my side

The word, “forsake ” means to abandon or leave completely. The thought of being forsaken leaves one desperate or hopeless. Loneliness is one of those perceptions that eats away at our mind as well as our soul. No matter how many surround us, when we feel abandoned, we feel utterly alone.

Our Savior, Jesus, felt this complete abandonment as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.  It pierced through His mind as He was nailed to the cross. When He cried out for God and asked why He had forsaken Him, He felt that complete separation from His Father.  His humanity was reunited with His Godliness when He was able to overcome death on Easter Sunday.

He’s promised us through His Holy Word, to never leave us. He is available 24/7, every day of every year during our walk on earth and even after we depart from this world.  He will not forsake us.

What a comfort to know that we never have to walk alone – even though the world may be crumbling around us – even when it seems we have no one left who understands our physical, emotional or spiritual needs. We have His promise, “Never will I forsake you.”

Escaping from the reality of the sinful world we live in is just a temporary fix.  We can do so by finding something else to entertain ourselves or turn to the darkness of that world that draws us from God.  If we want true hope, we can turn to Jesus, the One who experienced all our sorrows and knows what it’s like to be totally alone.  We can rely on Him.