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Abandonment
December 8, 2012

Have you ever thought everything was going great in your life when all of a sudden something comes up that turns everything upside down? All of a sudden, you are an outsider, no longer part of the in crowd. Maybe friends leave you or maybe you get released from a job. Sometimes a person we really look up to lets us down and that causes us to doubt our self-worth. These and many other situations can cause us to feel abandoned and feelings of abandonment is one of the challenges faced in life as it is a normal part of the human condition. Abandonment is a feeling that can make us feel like we have nothing even though we might have many things. Sometimes we never realize what we had until we feel abandoned. Abandonment is a topic covered by the Bible. We'll find out that even Jesus felt abandoned by God as he was crucified, and we will learn about the promises that God has for us regarding this topic.

Mark 15:33-39
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

Feeling abandoned is something that Jesus felt right before he died. I can't imagine anyone feeling this way right before death. Why Jesus felt this way the Bible doesn't say. Some believe that God withdrew his presence from Jesus as the sins of mankind were placed on him right before his sacrifice, and that this disconnect from God is what caused the feeling of abandonment. What about you or me? Could we wake up one day to find that God has abandoned us? The short answer to that is no, and we'll see from the Bible how that is explained.

Deuteronomy 31:1-8
And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan. The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said. And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed. And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you. Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

Moses, born of a slave and raised as Pharaoh's daughter's son, knew that God sticks by those he calls. He knew he was called by God to lead the children of Israel from captivity, and personally knew from experience, even though the circumstances of his life caused him to flee from Egypt, that God protected him, stayed with him, and allowed him to prosper in his new life. God then allowed him to return to Egypt and to triumph over those who tried to kill him. Looking into the Red Sea, and hearing the advancing of the Egyptian chariots, Moses knew God would deliver them and at this later time in his life, he was thinking of these moments and so many more. The older I get, the more times I get saved from danger or the bad circumstances of dumb luck. Facing death as an old man, Moses could have felt abandoned by God. Instead, he felt vindicated, having lived a life devoted to God and if he was asked, he would have been able to answer the question "Is God on your side?" with a resounding yes. He told Joshua to boldly go forward because God will not fail us, nor will he ever abandon us. So with this knowledge that God will never abandon us, how can we use this knowledge? Consider from the letter written to Hebrews.

Hebrews 13:1-8
Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

In other words, because we know that God will never leave us nor forsake us, we do not have to be overcome by fear and as many writers show, fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. With this mindset we are able to allow brotherly love to continue when others might stop. We are able to socialize with those we do not know. We welcome those who have difficulties. We respect marriage and the husband-wife relationship. We are content with what we have and are not greedy to have what others have. The more we understand that abandonment is a normal human feeling, and the more we understand that God will never leave nor forsake us, the easier it will be for us to celebrate what is good, embrace what is good, and do what is good.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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