Jeannie Gunn was the first white woman to settle at Elsey
Station near Mataranka, Northern Territory. In 1902, she wrote of
her experiences under the catchy title ‘We of the Never Never’,
although she deliberately changed the names of the main
characters. Her story describes how, as a woman, she survived
in that faraway forbidden place, where she faced hardship and
prejudice, and yet survived.
‘We of the Never Never’ serves as a powerful metaphor for
Christians’ unwavering relationship with their Lord. He has given
the unshakable assurance that he will never leave them nor
forsake them. This promise is underscored in Hebrews 13:5,
where the original Greek states, ‘I will never, no I will never leave
you, and I will never, never, never forsake you.’ The repetition of
the word ‘never’ is not a mere linguistic quirk, but a profound
declaration of God’s steadfastness. Never is never!
When we experience that promise, when we know that God
will never leave us nor forsake us, we will discover that no
situation in life comes unaccompanied because there is a voice
that calls to us in every gale and a hand that holds us in every
dark and dismal place.
Gordon Crabb