Hebrews 13:5 says that God will never leave us nor forsake us, but Philippians 4:9 says that God will be with us if we continue to do what God tells us. How do I reconcile these verses?
Phil. 4:4-9 says;
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
These verses are meant to be taken as a single stream of thought, the focus of which is achieving the peace of God that transcends human understanding. As Hebrews 13:5 indicates, God has promised to always be with us, but that doesn’t mean we always feel His peace. And Phil 4:9 doesn’t mean that God will only be with us if we do what He tells us. It means by doing what we’ve learned from Paul in Phil. 4:4-8 we’ll experience the peace of God as well as having the knowledge that He’s with us.