When You Feel Abandoned By God

“Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone.”
Psalm 33:22 (NLT)

Back in September of last year, my seven-year-old son was diagnosed with acute liver failure, which means his liver stopped working and the doctors had no idea why. He was transferred to one of the leading hospitals in the country a few hours away. They were able to treat his liver and he seemed to be on the mend.

A couple of months later his immune started attacking his body. Things got so bad we began meeting with a team to talk about a transplant.

It took months to figure out what was going on. That meant months of my wife caring for him in the hospital hours away, while I balanced work and caring for our other two children, all while dealing with a global pandemic.

God’s Presence In Our Problems

There have been many days this year when I felt like God had abandoned us.

Have you ever felt like God deserted you? Have you ever wondered if God stopped caring about you?

In today’s verse, the psalmist writes, “Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone.”

What the psalmist is saying here is his hope was in God alone. Not in his circumstances to change or his ability to figure things out and power through, but in God’s promises and his presence.

As believers, our hope isn’t found in our situation but our savior. Our hope isn’t that God will take our problems from us, but that he will always offer his help to us.

Finding Christ in Your Crisis

As our family continues to deal with this new normal (it’s like the eighth new normal for us this year), we circle back to God’s Word. We know God never guaranteed us a problem-free life, but he did say he would always be there for us (John 16:33). He might not give us everything we want, but he will give us what we need (Philippians 4:19). As we weather this storm, we have confidence that following him will give us a solid foundation (Matthew 7:24-25).

More and more I’m learning my hope needs to be in Christ alone. My circumstances may not change, but God’s love and promises for me never will. That’s what I’ve discovered in my mess.

Today, as you tackle your own mess, put your hope in the Lord. Trust he is with you even when it feels like he isn’t. Remember God loves you and you can always find rest in him (Matthew 11:28).

God may not take your problems from you, but you can always count on him to offer his help to you.

Questions For Reflection

1. Have you ever felt abandoned by God? What caused you to feel that way?
2. What’s one step you will take this week to help you find strength in the Lord this week?