"The promise of the Lord never to forsake the soul that trusts in Him — for many just a page of scripture old and new. But what we have here is an historical statement to the effect that He has never forsaken them that seek Him. History is a very large affair.
Unbelief nods assent, saying 'the statement needs modification — we have often been forsaken of the Lord.'
The promise is not that we shall always have a sensible manifestation of the Lord. Look for the token that the Lord had not forsaken in the right place. Look for the burning fiery furnace and find the form of the Son of God with you.
It is the privilege of faith to hear the Lord even amid the thunders of God's most agitated providence."
— George Bowen (1816–1888) · The White Sadhu of Bombay✦ An Historical Statement
Bowen makes a distinction that most devotional writers would walk right past. For many, Psalm 9:10 is a promise to be believed — a comfort to be received, a doctrine to be affirmed. Good as far as it goes. But Bowen stops and says — look again. David does not say I believe You will not forsake. He says You have not. Past tense. Completed action.
This is an historical statement. Every soul that ever sought God — in every century, every language, every darkness, every burning fiery furnace — and the record stands: not one was forsaken. That is not a small claim. That is one of the most audacious declarations in all of Scripture when you see it as Bowen sees it. History is a very large affair. And the entire weight of that history stands against the objector.
"History is a very large affair."
— George Bowen · The witness of ten thousand generations answers the single objecting voice✦ Unbelief Nods Assent
The objector does not arrive with angry atheism or outright rejection. Bowen is far too honest for that. He knows the real danger — unbelief that nods assent. The polite, reasonable, sophisticated voice inside the devotional life itself that says — yes, yes, a beautiful verse, but surely the statement needs modification. We have often been forsaken of the Lord.
Such reasonable language for such a radical act — taking the chisel to the Word of God. This is not the enemy at the gate. This is the voice that has been through enough difficulty to start building a case. The voice that measures God's faithfulness by the presence of sensible comfort and finds the ledger coming up short.
And Bowen's answer is not a better argument. It is a better place to look.
Look in the Right Place
The promise is not what unbelief expectedShadrach, Meshach, Abednego. The furnace heated seven times hotter than normal. The soldiers who threw them in died from the heat. The most extreme circumstance imaginable — not merely difficulty, not merely suffering, but the place specifically designed to destroy.
And what do they find inside? Not deliverance from the furnace. Not the furnace made cool and comfortable. Not a sensible manifestation appearing on the outside saying — I am here, do not be afraid.
The form of the Son of God — inside the fire — with them.
Bowen says: that is where to look. Not for the removal of the furnace. Not for the feelings to return. Not for circumstances to arrange themselves into evidence of divine favor. Look inside the furnace. He is already there. He was there before you arrived. He will be there when the fire has done its work.
The token that He has not forsaken — it is not found in the absence of the fire. It is found in the presence of the Son of God within it.
The Historical Record
Not a prediction — a testimony. You have not forsaken them that seek You. The complete, unbroken record of every seeking soul across every century. History is a very large affair. The single objecting voice cannot overturn it.
Sensible vs. Real
The promise is not that we shall always have a sensible manifestation. Feeling forsaken and being forsaken are not the same thing. Unbelief confuses the two. Faith has learned to look deeper — inside the furnace, not outside it.
The Privilege of Faith
Not the burden of faith — the privilege. To hear the Lord amid the thunders of God's most agitated providence. The soul that has found Him in the fire has something the comfortable soul does not have. It cannot be taught. It can only be lived.
"It is the privilege of faith to hear the Lord even amid the thunders of God's most agitated providence."
— George Bowen · The most mature thing he ever wrote✦ The Privilege, Not the Burden
That word — privilege — stops everything. Bowen does not say the trial of faith, the test of faith, the suffering of faith. He says the privilege of faith. The soul that can hear the Lord amid the thunders has access to something the soul in comfortable circumstances simply does not have. It has learned to locate God not in the sensible manifestation but in the fire itself.
Five years of morning devotions in Portugal. Some mornings the feelings were present and the light was clear. Some mornings the body said no and the spirit said this matters more. Some mornings the thunders of providence were louder than everything else. And still — before dawn — the soul came. That is not the behavior of someone who requires a sensible manifestation. That is the behavior of someone who has learned to look for the form of the Son of God inside the furnace. 🙏
This is Leda's chapter in that very large affair called history. The record is being written. You have not forsaken them that seek You. The seeking continues. The record holds.
Senhor Deus, reconheço que muitas vezes dou valor ao que é passageiro e me esqueço do que é eterno. Que nada seja mais importante do que a Tua presença em minha vida. Renova a minha fé, fortalece meu espírito e guia os meus passos no Teu caminho.