This article is for some one who is going through frail state of helplessness, hopelessness, despair and having the feelings of rejection, and abandonment. Dear friend this journey could be a very lonely walk and waves of anger, discouragement, and doubt could plague you to the utmost point of despair. Even if you are in a crowd or in a party there could be a continuing gnaw away at your heart as though you have a terminal illness. You may even question, is your life worth continuing?
What is the meaning of abandonment?
a·ban·doned
1. forsaken or deserted: an abandoned building; an abandoned kitten.
2. unrestrained or uncontrolled; uninhibited: She danced with abandoned enthusiasm.
3. utterly lacking
in moral restraints; shameless; wicked: an abandoned and dissolute
ruler.
Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes,
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills: —
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:
Environment is but his looking-glass‑1.
Now the point and the encouragement I am bringing forth in this article is, if there is much upheaval; there should be much comfort some where. “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God; Isaiah 40:1; (NKJV). God’s People Are Comforted. William Sanford in his fascinating book Great personalities of the Old Testament mentioned that Isaiah the prophetic book was great for two reasons.
a. he lived in momentous days especially in critical days of international upheaval.
b. he wrote what many consider being
the greatest book in the Old Testament.
As we study this book we will get to know
what this outstanding prophet is saying, and also we meet mighty Kings and
rulers of his time. We will witness the rise and fall of mighty Kingdoms and
Kings, and we see the Hand of the Lord chastening and restoring God’s people. One
of the greatest themes of this book is the suffering
servant, the Lord Jesus Christ. We come to the knowledge and understanding
of the suffering servant, how He does the will of the Father, and came to the
world to suffer and die for the sins of the whole world.
It is a great comfort when we read Isaiah
chapter 53, on “the suffering servant.” For
a person who is suffering it was the greatest comfort to know that Jesus was
rejected, even by the closest friends, family, and even all the people whom He
helped and at a time he needed the most. “He
was despised and rejected” Isa: 53:3. The Matthew Henry one of the greatest
Theologians of 1600’s explains that Jesus was abandoned and abhorred and he
became a reproach to all men. In other words, Jesus became one that men would
be shy of keeping company and he had no self-esteem. Many hid their faces from
Him, because he was considered as a bad man. Despite the love he showed and the
lives He touched, they denied Him, betrayed Him, and they gave up on Him.
‘He
opened not his mouth’ Isa: 53: 7; Jesus Christ
freely offered himself to suffer and die for us in perfect accordance with His
Father’s will. We know from God’s Word that He grew in stature and God’s
wisdom. By His wisdom he could have evaded this deathly sentence; and by his
power he could have resisted this kind of brutal execution. But he went to the
cross just like a lamb being led to the slaughter house without any reluctance
and difficulty. This denotes not only His meekness under reproach but his will
in compliance with His father’s will; But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; And I
am like a mute who does not open his mouth; Psa:38:13.
Plod while we
wait! What is the meaning of plod?
Definition of plod
(vi)Bing Dictionary
plod
- walk
heavily: to walk with a slow heavy tread
- work
slowly but steadily: to work slowly but steadily, especially on
something uninteresting or laborious
- slow
heavy steps: a walk with slow heavy steps
God
is able to understand how we feel some times, and He is the only one who is
able to scale the unscalable. If we trust in our own strength we fail miserably
and if we wait on the Lord He is able to renew our strength and supply our
mental, emotional and spiritual make up.
“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint”. Isaiah 40:3; (NKJV). This means
hope in hopelessness and this involves meditating on His character, and His
promises, praying and glorifying Him. Does this come naturally to a fallen man?
Of course not and this renewing of our minds means to “exchange” as taking off
old clothes and putting on new; 2 Cori 12:1-10. In this process of exchange we
are slowly changing our weaknesses for God’s power as we wait upon Him. God’s
Spirit is available and with His help we refuse to allow the enemy to sow seeds
of unforgiveness, bitterness, vengeance and hatred which could also eventually
lay foundation for abandonment and rejection.
God’s power enables us to soar; when there
is a crisis situation it is very much harder to walk in the ordinary pressures
of life than to fly like the eagle. William Carey the father of modern missions
once said, “I can plod and that is my
only genius; I can persevere in any pursuit and to this I owe everything.”
When we read Hebrews chapter 11, the greatest heroes of faith are not always
those who seem to be soaring, but the ones who are faithfully plodding! One
thing is for sure those heroes of faith had the vision of God’s unconditional
love and acceptance. We can even say, blessed are the plodders with God’s help,
because they finally arrive at the destination.
End Notes:
The title is influenced by a verse in the Bible from the Book of Proverbs,
chapter 23, verse 7: “As a man thinketh in
his heart, so is he.”
Website References:
dictionary.reference.com/browse/abandoned
adjective 1. forsaken or deserted: an abandoned building; an abandoned
kitten. 2. unrestrained or uncontrolled; uninhibited: She danced with abandoned
enthusiasm. 3 ...
a·ban·doned (-b n d nd) adj. 1. Deserted; forsaken. 2.
Exuberantly enthusiastic. 3. Recklessly unrestrained. abandoned [əˈbændənd]
adj. 1. deserted an abandoned ...
ardictionary.com/Abandoned/54
Meaning of Abandoned: of Abandon ... Search Dictionary:
Bibliography:
1. Millard J. Erickson. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids
2. R.T. Kendall. Understanding Theology, Developing a Healthy
Church in the 21st Century, 1996, p. 357-364.
3. Jay E. Adams. A
Theology of Christian Counseling, More than Redemption. Grand Rapids
4. Louis Berkhof. Systematic
Theology. Grand Rapids
5. Robert P Lightner.
Handbook of Evangelical Theology, Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey
and Review. Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1986, p.527-544.
6. Charles Ryrie.
Basic Theology. Chicago
7. A. H. Strong. Systematic Theology. New Jersey
8. Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology, An Introduction to
Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids
9. Steven W. Waterhouse. Not By Bread Alone, An Outlined Guide To
Bible Doctrine. Amarillo: Westcliffe Press, 2007, p.188-191.
10. John Theodore Muller, Th.D. Christian Dogmatics, A handbook of Doctrinal
Theology for Pastors, Teachers, and Laymen. St. Louis, Mo: Concordia
Publishing House, 1934, p.384-386.
11.
Prayers To Move Your Mountains. Nashville
12.
John White. Parables, the Greatest Stories ever Told. Illinois
13.
ESV Study Bible. English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton , Illinois
14.
The Matthew Henry Study Bible. King James Version. Iowa falls: World Bible
Publishers, Inc.
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