When You Feel Abandoned by God

Preface: I'm teaching at Chuck's small group tonight while Chuck is in Los Angeles teaching Doctor of Ministry candidates. I wanted to share some of the things I am learning as I study the passage he assigned me, Isaiah 40:9-31. (By the way, for those who might not know, our rock guitar loving Worship Pastor, Chuck, is an Old Testament scholar, complete with a Ph.D., and is on the faculty of Houston Graduate School of Theology. I'm glad he left me with some of his notes!)

As we grow in our relationship with God, there is a crisis we face at least once. We find ourselves in a situation where we are desperate for a certain thing to happen. We pray and pray, yet nothing happens. Worse yet, the wrong thing happens. In that moment we wonder if God has forgotten us, of if he even cares about things important to us. In Isaiah, God puts it like this:

Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? (Isaiah 40:27, NIV)

What do we do when we feel like that, forgotten, even ignored by God?

First, let's not be too hard on ourselves. We are not the first people in history to feel this way. The words of verse 27 are used by God to identify what the people were feeling, so this is nothing new. It seems to be in our fallen nature to think God has abandoned us or just does not care when things don't go like we think they should.

Second, we must remind ourselves there is a reason why God is God and we are not. In the verses immediately previous to verse 27 God has been reminding us of his greatness, his supremacy when compared to us. In the face of such greatness, who are we to question what he allows and disallows, when he intervenes and does not intervene? Remembering the greatness of God helps us believe He knows what's best for us.

Third, we must trust him. Following verse 27 we are reminded again of God's greatness, specifically with regard to his endurance and wisdom in comparison to ours. The good news is that he imparts his strength to us. In some of the best known words of Isaiah we read,

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:29-31, NIV)

"Those who hope in the Lord..." Some translations say wait, but perhaps the best word is "trust." Certainly trust would be required to wait or hope, for we need to trust in God's ability to deliver if we are going to "wait" or "hope." In order to do either, we need to remember God's supremacy in all things, just as we have been reminded in the preceding verses.

There are many things that test us in life. Among the most difficult are the ones we don't understand. It is in those moments, those moments when we feel pushed beyond our ability to understand or endure, that we have our greatest opportunity to put our trust in God.

Skinned Alive

A somewhat well-known passage of scripture is found in Matthew 9:37 where Jesus informs his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” He goes on to instruct them to pray for more laborers in order to achieve a greater harvest, but what did Jesus see that caused him to take that moment to say those things?

Verse 36 answers the question, and an expanded translation of the Greek gives us a better understanding of what he was actually viewing. Verse 36 says, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36, ESV)

The word harassed comes from the Greek word skullo that translates as harass, trouble, or weary. However, the word also means to skin, flay or lacerate. The word helpless comes from the Greek word rhipto. It means to throw, cast, hurl, scatter, or disperse and is also used in regard to sick people who are laid on the ground. In addition to these words, Jesus goes on to describe people as “sheep without a shepherd.”

Having lived in West Texas sheep and goat country for a short time, I learned a few things about sheep from the local ranchers.

1. Sheep follow other sheep blindly, and seldom does the lead sheep actually know where he is going.
2. Sheep are timid animals, and they startle easily. Once they startle, panic sets in to the point that the sheep can become far more destructive to themselves than whatever it is that startled them.
3. Sheep have no ability to defend themselves. They must be defended.
   

So what did Jesus see when he observed people? He saw people who were in deep anguish, so deep that words carrying connotations of their skin actually being peeled off or words that were used to describe those who were so sick they laid helplessly on the ground. He saw people who were directionless, easily startled, and unable to defend themselves against those things or forces that sought to destroy them. While the text is not explicit, since Jesus’ focus was on the spiritual and eternal, I am sure he had in mind not just our earthly existence or enemies. He was mindful of the eternal implications and the ways Satan seeks to take advantage of our helplessness. Satan wants to skin us alive.

While the point of the passage, in my opinion, is about the need being so great more workers are needed to bring people into relationship with Jesus, it also reminds us of some important truth. When we don’t know which way to go, we have a shepherd that provides us with direction. When we are anxious and fearful, we have one who calms us. When we feel vulnerable and defenseless, we have one who protects us.

The Benefits of Intimacy with Jesus

I thought you might be encouraged by the following short paragraph. I so want these words to be more than words on a page. It is my prayer, and sure hope, that this is what we each experience together at Ranch Community Fellowship and in other communities that honor Jesus Christ.

"When once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely, we never need sympathy, we can pour out all the time without being pathetic. The saint who is intimate with Jesus will never leave impressions of himself, but only the impression that Jesus is having unhindered way, because the last abyss of his nature has been satisfied by Him. The only impression left by such a life is that of the strong calm sanity that Our Lord gives to those who are intimate with Him."

Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (January 7). Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers.