Feeling Abandoned, Being Abandoned

Synopsis     Psalm 73:24-74:21     1/3/2022 

When Solomon’s Temple was destroyed, the psalmist poured out his despair. He wondered if God was finished with Israel. And he lamented the triumph of the Babylonians.  

Yet, he committed to remaining faithful to God. And he prayed for God to remember His holy covenant with Israel. 

Feeling Abandoned and Being Abandoned 

Abandonment is an irreversibly broken relationship imposed one on another. When I am left by another, I am powerless to reverse the breach. So, the pain I feel comes from both the loss of relationship and the resonance of my powerlessness.  

Curiously, I can feel abandoned without actually being abandoned. This happens when I confuse my expectations from a relationship with the relationship itself.  

I suppose it’s an irony that my own impositions create the appearance of breach. Thus, my own particular insistence creates the experience of my painfully real suffering.  

So, here’s our confidence: God has not abandoned you, or me, or anybody.  

“It is the LORD who goes before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed.” Deut 31:8