From His Heart Daily Devotional 18 December 2021
ABANDONMENT ISSUES?
“Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU.”
Hebrews 13:5-6
When I was a kid growing up, my mom and dad separated for a space of two years. It was terribly hard on my mom, and it was hard on us kids. Since I was only 10, I didn’t understand all the issues in play. All I really knew is that my mom was crying a lot, and my dad was moving out. My mom felt abandoned, and so did we.
Have you ever experienced that terrible feeling of abandonment? Many who have gone through the horrors of divorce surely have. The fear of abandonment is a genuine enemy that tries to embed itself in your mind and heart, stealing away your sense of peace and safety. When you have abandonment issues, you tend to feel like you must perform, or else the rug just may get pulled out from underneath you.
Perhaps you have struggled with the fear of abandonment. The devil tries to make us believe the lie that if we fail and falter in our walk with Jesus, He will leave us, just like He left Samson. The devil always moves in for the kill when we blow it big time.
In our major failures, Satan will whisper, “Look how you sinned! Do you think God is going to have anything to do with you after this? Of course not! God is holy … and there is no way Holy God can even stand the sight of sinful you anymore. There is no point in going to church or reading your Bible or praying. God is finished with you. You are on your own now, pal. Start singing, “Alone again, naturally.” Have you ever felt those words come your way? I certainly have. And although they FEEL like the truth, they aren’t even close.
I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU
God makes it clear in His Word that He will never leave those who know and love Him. When you and I receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, He comes to us through His Spirit to live in us FOREVER (see John 14:16-17).
Furthermore, the Lord speaks specifically to the fear of abandonment in Hebrews 13:5. The Greek construction of that verse has five negatives in it. Although not good English, the repetitive negatives make for great theology. The Lord literally promises to “never, never, never, never, never leave us or forsake us.”
Hebrews 13:5 in the Amplified Bible puts it this way:
For He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]
FOR YOU
Perhaps you have been feeling forsaken and abandoned. Perhaps you have believed the lie of the devil because it matched up so well with your feelings. Remember, truth is not what you feel. Truth is what God says.
If you have blown it recently in your Christian life, confess it to God and repent of that sin. Bring your sin out of the shadows and let His blood wash it white as snow, and claim Hebrews 13:5. Although you and I fail and falter, God never stops working on us. Paul said, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
Pastor Jeff Schreve,
From His Heart Ministries
