Tag: abandonment

The Book of Isaiah is an amazing source of inspiration. I find it nearly as comforting as the Psalms. Here is an intriguing verse that I remember caught me off guard when I read it for the first time.

Isaiah is comparing God’s grace, lovingkindness, goodness, and protection to a mother. He poses this question:

Can a woman forget her nursing child? And not have compassion on the son of her womb? (NKJV)

Here is the way the NIV reads: Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

My immediate answer to that question is NO. It would seem impossible. I mean, MOM remains faithful when all others have turned their backs on us. How many times have you seen the mother of a mass murderer or a serial killer on TV, speaking or standing in defense of her grown child? Dads may walk out… friends may fall aside… brothers may turn their back… but moms remain faithful forever. Right?

Yet, Isaiah’s words were not his own; they were inspired by God. We live in a fallen world, a world where – like it or not – a mother sometimes abandons her child. We live in a world that is not only fallen, but one in which it is nearly impossible to survive. Some mothers believe they have no choice but to forget their children. What is Isaiah’s inspired answer to his question?

Though she may forget, I [God] will not forget you!

We serve a great God. We serve a God whose goodness is impossible to comprehend. We serve a God who will never leave us nor forsake us.

Fear Not, for God is more faithful than even a good mother.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” – Matthew 27:46

Some of my earliest memories are of waiting. Three years old, waiting in the front yard for friends of the family to arrive. About the same age, sitting on the counter top at the club where my dad tended bar, waiting on him to get done. My whole life has been spent waiting on something or someone.

Tonight, while waiting on someone, I became frustrated, even agitated. We’ve all been there. We have to be at a function at a designated time, and we have plenty of time to get there, but one in our party decides that they will piddle around (there’s an antiquated term). By the time everyone loads into the car, the function has already begun. Shamefully, I was steamed.

Upon reflection, I realize that one of the reasons I hate waiting is that I equate it with abandonment. Perhaps that is simply a personal observation. Still, for those who have waited, and waited, and waited on someone, the feeling is akin to abandonment. Similarly, those who have waited on the Lord, may have interpreted God’s silence as abandonment.

If one reads the Psalms, it is easy to see such feelings of abandonment in times of hiding during David’s youth and again during times of isolation in his old age. One cannot begin to fathom the loneliness and abandonment that Christ must have felt at the end of His ministry, especially on the cross. The truth is, while you and I may have deserted God many times, He has never left our side.

On this Ash Wednesday, I am reminded of the final days of Christ. I wonder if Jesus looked into the eyes of the crowd at the foot of the cross, cheering His tortuous death, and recognized some of the same men and women who had just days before cheered His arrival in the city. Did he see my face at the foot of the cross? Was I mocking Him, or standing with John? Did I hide with Simon Peter, or did I gamble for his cloak? Did I fall at His feet?

Christ was abandoned and alone, waiting for you and I to accept His sacrifice and His forgiveness. For our sins He died. I weep thinking about His death, and I take comfort in the fact that He will never abandon me like I have Him.

Fear Not 365 – For God Is More Faithful Than Even a Good Mother

Waiting… All Alone