Many people have at least one or perhaps many social media accounts. I have two Facebook accounts. One is for my personal use where I occasionally post pictures of my grandchildren, travels, or some personal comments. The other is my Author page titled Helen McCormack Devotionals where I occasionally post articles that have been in The Minot Daily News, pictures of past experiences or general comments on life.

I don’t know who sees my personal page unless someone has asked to be a friend or happens to comment or respond to a picture or post. The same is true of my Author page but since it is a “business” page, I can also see anonymous information such as how many followers I have, their age categories, what country my followers are from etc. I happened to be looking at that information one day and noticed that someone had “unfollowed” my Author page. Seeing that triggered thankfulness in my heart that God never unfollows us! Do we ever unfollow Him? What does it mean to follow Him? Is it true that He never unfollows us?

Many people did stop following Jesus when it became apparent that He was not the great earthly king they hoped for, who had come to conquer the current corrupt government. “From this time, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him,” (John 6:66 NIV).

His closest 12 disciples, however, did understand because when Jesus asked them if they were leaving too, they replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God,” (John 6:68 NIV). Do we, if we are disappointed in God’s choices for us, decide that He is not worth following? Do we turn our backs on Him because He does not give us everything we could ever want? Do we view Him as our Savior or our Amazon gift card?

What does it mean to follow Him? Jesus told others to follow Him over 20 times in the Bible. He did not mean that we were just to admire Him, grudgingly give Him an hour on Sunday morning or do a few good deeds so that we can soothe our conscience. No, He desires a deeply personal relationship with us. I recently learned that the Greek word that Jesus used for “follow me,” means to follow him by going behind him physically, in behavior and in mindset. That kind of following requires our whole being, not just a surface acknowledgement of God’s existence.

Finally, will He “unfollow” us? God, in Joshua 1 and in Hebrews 13, has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.” That is simple and to the point. He also issues an open invitation. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls,” (Matthew 11:28-29 ESV).

Let’s rest in the promise that no matter where we go physically, mentally or emotionally, we are never so far away that God cannot hear or answer our call. He desires that we follow closely so that we can enjoy a warm relationship with Him.

Author of a second book, “Journeys in Faith, Pursing Obedience,” containing more than 50 additional devotionals written for The Minot Daily News.