God Will Never Abandon

It was a Wednesday afternoon and I could feel the sadness begin to rise.
Out of nowhere, really, and deepening with every breath it seemed.

It had been a difficult season for relationships.
And I had been feeling overwhelmed by the sense of apparent abandonment.

Heading home from the grocery store I had a long talk with Jesus.
And in tears from a heart poured out with emotion, I asked Him the question that doesn’t always get answered this side of eternity:

Why?

Because I was so sure I had heard Him correctly.
I was so sure that reconciliation was just up ahead.
I was so sure that if I laid my heart open and admitted to even that which I felt certain I was no responsible, that things would be okay. 

But sometimes I get it wrong.
And He doesn’t call me to understand.
He calls me to obey.

I would even feel the ache in my heart for all that had been lost.
Because losing the ones we love by means of unchosen loss is hard enough.
But abandonment by choice is always more painful.

It was in that long ride home I listened intently to the lyrics of the song that would become my anthem in the hard days ahead:
“Holy Spirit, won't You come and cover me in light. Illuminate the, dark space with colour yellow bright. Like the stars, coming out and filling up my night. The glory of Your, promises, You make wrong things right… Oh You make wrong things right.  Beautiful Jesus, my glorious friend. The One who never grows weary, and stays till the end. Oh, how I love You… I cannot begin to say
all of the reasons that I love to sing Your Name.”

And I would go to the scriptures to find the salve that soothes.
And the words leapt from the page.
Genesis 40.
Joseph and The cup bearer in Pharaoh’s court.
Joseph had been faithful.  He’d done just what the cup bearer had asked.  To interpret his dream.  And there was only one request Joseph had of him.  “Please remember me… and when things go well for you, mention me to Pharaoh so he will release me.”  (verse 14).  He remained in prison and was serving a sentence for which he had no guilt.

But the solemn reality is found in verse 23.  When Pharaoh prepared a banquet for his officials and, indeed restored the cup bearer to his former position, as predicted by Joseph himself, scripture tells us, “Pharaoh’s chief cup bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.”
A sad reality.
And yet grievously relatable.

And I wonder, too, have you felt the same way?
Left out?
Forgotten?
Deserted?
Forsaken?

Have you been hurt and disappointed?
Rejected?
Neglected?

Maybe He’s whispering the same thing to your heart today.
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deut 31:8)

Because the truth is we are to live, not for people, but for Jesus.
Ahh, yes, the “One who never grows weary and stays to the end.”

And so I will remember today His promise to stay.
His promise to never leave.
His promise to protect.
His promise of friendship for those who love Him.

Though some may leave… He will never abandon.
And He is all we ever need.