I was praying the other day when the Lord spoke these words:
"I will not abandon you. I will not abandon My plans and purposes in your life."
Indeed, these are His words of assurance for you too. The word 'abandon' is defined in Oxford Dictionary as 'to go away from a person/thing/place not intending to return', or 'to leave somebody/something to be taken away'.
Good parents will never abandon their children. And even in extremely difficult situations (e.g. war time), when parents have no choice but to 'abandon' their children, it breaks the hearts of the parents to leave their children with someone else.
But your Abba Father in heaven will never abandon you, and will never abandon His plans and purposes He has started in your life! Philippians 1:6 says, 'Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ'.
Let's see what the Lord had spoken to Jacob as he embarked on his journey to the east, the land of his mother's father (Genesis 28:1-2). When he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it (Genesis 28:11-12). The Lord stood above it and said: "I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants." (Genesis 28:13) The Lord then spoke further: "Behold, I am with you and will keep (protect) you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you." (Genesis 28:15)
See the words "I will not leave you" here? The word 'leave' here is 'aw-zab' in Hebrew, meaning 'fail, leave, forsake'. In other words, the Lord was saying to Jacob that 'He will not fail him'.
Let's now see what Moses said to all Israel and Joshua, just before they began their conquest of the land the Lord had given them. Deuteronomy 31:1-8 (NKJV) says, 'Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel, "I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the Lord has said to me, 'You shall not cross over this Jordan,' The Lord your God Himself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua himself crosses over before you, just as the Lord has said... Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed."'
The word 'leave' here is 'raw-faw' in Hebrew, meaning 'to slacken, to cease, to faint'. Indeed He is the Lord who never slackens, ceases, and faints in your life!
Interestingly, the word 'forsake' here is 'aw-zab' in Hebrew (exactly the same Hebrew word for 'leave' in Genesis 28:15 when the Lord spoke that He would not leave Jacob). As you can see here, these words 'leave' and 'forsake' have been used interchangeably, and both can be translated as 'aw-zab', meaning 'fail, leave, forsake'. In fact, in King James Version (KJV), it is written this way: 'He will not fail thee nor forsake thee'.
Note: The sentence above is a 'double negative' statement, and it puts a strong emphasis that the Lord 'will never ever, not by any means' fail you nor forsake you!
So, take heart, people of God, because the Lord is saying the same to you that He 'will never ever, not by any means' fail you nor forsake you. Keep looking to Him, and keep trusting in Him. Be strong and of good courage, whatever you may be facing at the moment. I pray the Lord shall grant you the strength that you need, and I pray for your breakthrough as well.
For some of you who have been abandoned before, be it by your own parents, your spouse (for another man or woman), your family, or even those friends whom you used to trust so much, this article is especially dedicated for you. The Lord is opening His arms to embrace you today. Receive His love and embrace that only He can give. Take heart also that He knows how to turn things around for good to you.
Job experienced the same. He was abandoned by his spouse (Job 2:9) and his pitiless friends (Job 16:20) at one time or another. But do you know that the Lord had never abandoned Job? It was the people around him who abandoned him! In fact, the Lord had already in view of Job being restored and blessed! When Job began to turn away from his own self-righteousness and began acknowledging who the Lord God is, the Lord restored Job's losses and gave him twice as much as he had before, and the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning (Job 42:10, Job 42:12). And you know what? Job then went on to live another one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations! (Job 42:16) Speaking of happy ending!
The parable of the prodigal son: "Who abandoned who?" (Luke 15:11-32)
Jesus told of a parable where the younger son took the portions of goods given by his father, journeyed to a country far away, and there wasted all his possessions with prodigal (wasteful, wild) living. But when he had lost everything, and came back to senses, he returned to his father, ready even to be made like one of his father's hired servants. But when the father saw him from afar off, he had compassion, ran and fell on his neck, and kissed him. The father then said to his servants, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry, for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."
The 'father' here speaks of 'our Abba Father in heaven', and the 'son' here speaks of 'someone who abandoned Him'. But the moment the son returned to the father, the father was so glad that he celebrated his return with a banquet, and with music and dancing!
People of God, this is the heart of your Abba Father in heaven, who will never abandon you, nor will He abandon His plans and purposes in your life. Will you receive His love and embrace afresh and anew today? He promised Jacob (who later became Israel) and Joshua that He would never leave them, and that He would bless them. Both went on to do great exploits for the Lord in amazing ways. And He is saying the same for you today. As you look forward to a brand new year, I pray that you too will experience the goodness, the power, and the lovingkindness of your Abba Father in many more amazing ways. In Jesus' name. Amen.
