God was turning away, so to speak, after countless instructions and warnings, to show them (and us!) what sin does to them, to the world-but God was always there, always near to them. God was not “busy with another project” while an innocent Jerusalem suffered. God is always, always closer than our breath. God never, ever abandons His children in their pain. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I hear people say, “And God showed up!” when something great happens, as if to say that in the hard times God was absent or unreliable.īut that’s faulty theology. We believe we are innocent, that suffering is punishment.
#Abandoned life church free#
When we feel hurt or mistreated, when we feel unjustly accused, we tend to cry out: God, why have you abandoned me? In those piercing moments we believe God has promised a life free of suffering but has strangely decided to send suffering instead. I remember listening to a woman share in anger that God had abandoned her when her husband died from cancer. Today, we often feel God has abandoned us when we go through difficult circumstances. The prophet used the word “abandoned” to describe the pain of their choices-God allowed them to taste what it is like to follow your own path and not God’s. Their sins lead to the crumbling of their entire city. As a result, they suffered economically, politically, and religiously. Jerusalem continually failed to follow God. What was God was turning his face from? What was He was abandoning them to? To our minds still struggling to grasp who God is, it sounds cruel for God to “abandon” His people. We don’t often discuss the idea of God turning His face away. Let’s take a minute to pause here and consider Jerusalem’s relationship with God. In a burst of anger I turned my face away for a little while.īut with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” But with great compassion I will take you back.
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