Tag: abandonment

Why I believe – Psalm 22

  1. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
        Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

Where have you heard that before? I have to admit as I was reading Psalm 22 and praying for God to help with making some connections to this chapter, I was at a loss. David had said the same thing Jesus said on the cross in Matthew 27:46 hundreds of years earlier.  Why?  As I walked into church Sunday a few minutes early, I sat in the back with my niece and told her what chapter I was writing about this week.  I shared with her the last time I wrote; I had shared some of my testimony through Psalm 10.  I told her how at a young age, I was a master at hiding from God. Now in Psalm 22, David was once again searching for God and felt abandoned and distant. My next comment to my niece as the music began was God would open some doors to help with Psalm 22.  In walks Ben Miller, guest Pastor at Eastview Christian Church and director of Encounter at ISU.   The series we are on is called Worship Reframed, with our focus on Worship: The Presence.  What do you think one of the chapters referenced.  Psalm 22.  Thank you, God.

David was crying out to God.  He felt like God’s presence was nowhere to be found. The truth is. The reminder and reason why I believe is I’m always reminded that God is always with us. God’s presence is with us in every journey.  My connection to Why I believe was this, and often I can let the volume of the world allow me to tune God out.  To not have ears that are open to His presence.  What volume is too loud in your ear right now, making it feel like God has abandoned you? Is it work-related? Schedule at home still keeping you too busy? Is it social media that portrays false images?  The volume of the world is so loud.  The fast-paced motion we live in our lives cloud the presence of Him right next to you.  He hasn’t forsaken us. We just are living in a culture that focuses our attention on us and our daily desires being filled.  Why do I believe? Because when you turn your attention to God and realize His presence is always by your side, your perception of life changes. You start the journey of being transformed.  God transforms us when we turn down the volume of the world and turn our focus on Him.

I love when Paul is talking with Timothy about false gods and the love of money.  In his final charge in 1 Timothy 6:11, Paul says, But you, man of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. 

What do you need to flee from that is allowing you to believe that God has abandoned you? Just like David, I lived many years of my life where the noise of the world helped decide every decision I was going to make.  It wasn’t until I turned down the volume.

Lean into God’s presence that is right where you are today.  Right now.  In Acts 17 24-28, Paul says that the God who made the world and heavens gives us all life and breath.  God perfectly marked out our appointed times throughout this journey we call life to reach out to Him and find Him, though He is not far from any of us(28).   Do you seek Him daily and find Him, or does the world drown out His presence?

I still stumble and feel like I can do this world on my own.  That’s when I remember I really can’t.  It’s all God, and I need to lean into God and seek out the unique presence of God in my life.  This is why I believe.

Psalm 22:28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and he rules over the nations. 

Dear present Heavenly Father,

Thank you for never abandoning us.  Lord, you are always close, and in any of our moments of pain or fear, we can call on You.  Thank you for your closeness that has transformed my life that was abandoned by a world that could never provide the peace and love you have given freely. Meet us in unique moments of Your presence as we enter into this day to remind us that you are always near.  We love you. Amen

 

 

Come Back Sheep

Today’s Reading: Matthew 18:12-14 and Psalm 112

“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” Matthew 18:12-14

Have you ever gotten lost as a small child? Most of us can remember that helpless overwhelming sense of fear as we searched for our parent in a store or at a busy outdoor festival. Even as an adult I can recall that visceral feeling of my heart pounding, my eyes welling up with tears as I shouted for my Mom or Dad. As a parent, I’m now standing on the other side of that equation. Every time I take my three children to a public place I find myself endlessly counting to three as my eyes dart around looking for each little head curls. Of course as a child you believe that when you grow up you’ll leave all that fear and dependence behind. You believe that adults are in command of their world and can control their own circumstance rather than be controlled by external forces. It’s laughable, right? If only children knew just how much less control we have as grown-ups! If only they knew that we too experience the fear and the reality of being lost. That like them we experience abandonment, isolation, persecution and loneliness.  We don’t share that part of ourselves with children because it’s our job to protect them. We shield them from the worst of things and show them the best of things. And, in turn our Father does the same for us.

A lost sheep is totally defenseless. Having no weapon or benefit of speed, all he can do is cry, which signals his enemy to close in. The sheep has no sense of direction or gift of scent. He is surrounded by enemies; whether predators or simply the elements of nature. And when that lost sheep is separated from its herd it is all the more vulnerable to the cunning wit of his enemy. Just as our children are like our sheep, so are we the Father’s. When wander off from Christian life, we are vulnerable. The predators of our world close in, and all we can do is cry out to God. What are the bright and shiny things that can lure us away from our Christian flock? For me, it’s getting out of the habit of being in His word each day and getting into the habit of sleeping in, watching too much TV, too much focus on materialism and money. Suddenly, I find myself far far away from the place I want to be in my journey with Jesus Christ. Although I am just about as defenseless as a baby sheep in God’s eyes, I do have a sense of direction. I do know the way back to God. Jesus tells us that God “rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray…” Matthew 18:13. What that means is that there is everlasting grace for those who are lost. If you are reading today, and you feel like you are a sheep on the mountain, cold and alone, call out to Him. Follow that path that has led you back to Him before. And if you are reading and you’ve never found God, start in His word. Read, and He will find you.

~have a great week sheep