Monday, September 20, 2010

Abandonment

"'I have abandoned my people, my special possession.
I have surrendered my dearest ones to their enemies.
My chosen people have roared at me like a lion of the forest,
so I have treated them with contempt.



My chosen people act like speckled vultures,
but they themselves are surrounded by vultures.
Bring on the wild animals to pick their corpses clean!'"
Jeremiah 12:7–9

"Even as God declares his abandonment of his people, he uses love language. "My people, my special possession, my chosen people"—twice he says this last part. God may punish, but he does it with great grief. Sin is serious, it must be paid for, and it gives God only anguish to express the just part of his nature. If we think there's a conflict between love and justice on God's part, there is! Even within God's own heart. God's dilemma is spelled out in Jeremiah, but it's resolved in Jesus' taking on the punishment for sin. That's our good news!"
—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions

Ever experienced tough love...as the recipient, not the giver of?  God is love...it's His Nature.  And there is no doubt that He loves us...affirmed by the sacrifice of His One and Only Son for our sins.  Yet, at those times where we refuse to let go of our sins or continue to demand our own way, perhaps these are the times God must pull out the 'tough love.'

As a parent, I know first hand how difficult it is to see our children make wrong choices, disobey, and not follow after what they know to be true.  It's difficult to see them fall into the same bad decisions repeatedly and suffer as a result.  However, their are times that we have to dish out the tough love, especially when all other efforts have failed to curb bad behavior and choices.  In some extreme cases this could mean refusing to physically support bad behavior and having the child removed from the home.  Tough love is designed to help the lost child find their way, to correct their bad behavior, to help them learn from the consequences of their mistakes so they are able to make better choices.  Tough love isn't meant to alienate but to eventually restore healthy relationships and teach children how to live a godly life.  Tough love isn't meant to be permanent, but instead is a temporary state designed to discipline. 

Tough love is tough - on both the receiver and the giver.  And though the recipient of tough love feels abandoned and unloved, it is even more difficult emotionally for the giver.  And usually, the giver still loves that wayfaring child.  They are patiently waiting for the time they can be reconciled with the loved one lost to sin. 

God's tough love is perfect.  He LOVES us even during the times our sin causes Him to abandon us.  And though He is the giver of infinite chances, there comes a point where He knows tough love must be applied.  So He allows the consequences of our actions fall upon us full force.

When we feel abandoned by God, perhaps it is because of unconfessed sin in our lives - something that we just won't let God have His way with, something that is deep rooted and we refuse to give up. A feeling of abandonment by God is a critical signal that it's time for self-examination - a sign that we must prayerfully, honestly, and aggressively seek out sin and confess it, seek His forgiveness, and erradicate it from our lives.  Perhaps God wasn't the one to abandon us first, perhaps we were the ones who refused God's admittance into our lives! 

In times of abandonment, we must understand that God hasn't gone anywhere, He's still there beside us - waiting for us to surrender wholly to Him.  We are His special possession...so let's respond by surrendering all to Him and making Him ours! 

In His Love, Cathy

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