I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread. He is always generous, always lending, and his children are a blessing. Turn away from evil and do what is good, and dwell there forever. For the Lord loves justice and will not abandon His faithful ones. They are kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.      Psalm 37:25-28 HCSB

If someone had asked me that question 11 or more years ago, I would have been downright indignant. I would have insisted that I had not abandoned God. There were times in my life when I felt as though God had abandoned me. There were broken relationships when I wondered what went wrong. There were times when things didn’t go well that I wondered if God had abandoned me. Looking back now, I know that was not true.

You see God never abandons us. We are told in Deuteronomy 31:8, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” In Isaiah 41:10 we are told, “Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you. I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand.”

I have come to realize that it was in those times that I felt abandoned, that I had abandoned God, not the other way around. I realize that I had gotten myself into relationships where God had forewarned me, I just wasn’t smart enough to heed the warning. I had gotten into relationships where I was unequally yoked. I had not prayed before, but  just jumped into some of these situations thinking I had it all under control. Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way.

In my situation, I never completely abandoned God, but I might as well have. I thought that my little obligatory church attendance once or twice a month would suffice. I thought that praying when I really needed something or got myself into a jam was good enough. I thought that reading the scripture along with the pastor in church service was plenty of time in God’s word.

If you had asked me back then if I was saved, I would have said, “Yes.”  Silly me. My pastor often asks the question, “If you claim to be saved, what are you saved from?” I wasn’t saved from foul language. I wasn’t saved from treating others badly. I wasn’t saved from drinking. I committed a lot of sins back then that I am not proud of. But, I have come to realize that by returning to God, I was able to overcome these things. I was able to be saved from the sin that was dragging me down. 1John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

No matter how others treat us, God will never forsake us. Perhaps you have been in bad relationships, maybe even with family members at a young age. Perhaps you have thought someone was something they were not. Perhaps you have been unequally yoked. We are told in Psalm 27:10, “For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in.” This scripture reminds me of a song we sang in church, Sunday, “Where Could I Go?” It was written by James B. Coates and recorded and released by Ernestine B. Washington in 1946. It has been covered by numerous artists including the Gaither Band, Elvis, and Emmylou Harris. When life leaves us feeling abandoned and all alone, there is only one place we can go, that’s to the Lord.

My friend if you are feeling abandoned and all alone, know that God has not abandoned you. Take a good, hard look within and ask yourself if you have been living the life that God has called you to live. We are told in Romans 8:28 that all things work for the good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. Remember that this promise comes with a qualifier, it’s not an open promise for everyone but only for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.

I don’t have enough time to tell you all the wonderful things God has done in my life since I have returned to Him and surrendered my life to Him. But, I can tell you that I never have to worry because He takes good care of me. This doesn’t mean that I never experience sorrow or pain, it just means that He is there to walk me through it. I can now see that God has never abandoned me, I was the one who walked away. I was the one who stepped outside of His protective realm (Psalm 91:1-2).

If you have done the same, there is no time like the present to return to the Lord. He is waiting with open arms.

Have a great day!