The LORD himself will go before you.
He will be with you; he will not leave you or forget you.

Deuteronomy 31:8

When I was seven years old, I ran away from home. I’d had enough of my father’s rules and decided I could make it on my own, thank you very much. With my clothes in a paper bag, I stormed out the back gate and marched down the alley. [But] I didn’t go far. I got to the end of the alley and remembered I was hungry, so I went back home.

Though the rebellion was brief, it was rebellion nonetheless. And had you stopped me on the prodigal path… I just might have told you how I felt. I just might have said, “I don’t need a father. I’m too big for the rules of my family.”

I didn’t hear the rooster crow like Peter did. I didn’t feel the fish belch like Jonah did. I didn’t get a robe and a ring and sandals like the prodigal did. But I learned from my father on earth what those three learned from their Father in heaven. Our God is no fair-weather Father. He’s not into this love-`em-and-leave-`em stuff. I can count on him to be in my corner no matter how I perform. You can, too.

The Great House of God
-Max Lucado