Don’t give up on God when you feel abandoned

During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.  God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.  So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.   – Exodus 2.23-25

God’s rescue doesn’t always come the moment we want it. God had promised to bring the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt (Genesis 15:16; 46:3, 4).  The people had waited a long time for that promise to be kept, but God rescued them when he knew the right time had come.  God knows the best time to act.  When you feel that God has forgotten you in your troubles, remember that God has a time schedule we can’t see.

It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the ark remained at Kiriath Jearim, and all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the LORD. And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” –  1 Samuel 7:2-3

Israel mourned and sorrow gripped the nation for 20 years. The ark was put away like an unwanted box in an attic, and it seemed as if the Lord had abandoned his people.  Samuel, now a grown man, roused them to action by saying that if they were truly sorry, they should do something about it.  How easy it is for us to complain about our problems, even to God, while we refuse to act, change, and do what he requires.  We don’t even take the advice he has already given us.  Do you ever feel as if God has abandoned you?  Check to see if there is anything he has already told you to do.  You may not receive new guidance from God until you have acted on his previous directions.

Samuel urged the Israelites to get rid of their foreign gods. Idols today are much more subtle than gods of wood and stone, but they are just as dangerous.  Whatever holds first place in our lives or controls us is our god.  Money, success, material goods, pride, or anything else can be an idols if it takes the place of God in our lives.  The Lord alone is worthy of our service and worship, and we must let nothing rival him.  If we have “foreign gods”, we need to ask God to help us dethrone them, making the true God our first priority.

Why did Rehoboam abandon God?

After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD. Because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. –  2 Chronicles 12.1-2

Here “Israel” refers to Judah, the southern kingdom. During his first three years on the throne, Rehoboam made an attempt to obey God, and as a result Judah prospered.  But then, at his peak of popularity and power, he abandoned God.  The result was destruction because God allowed Judah to be conquered by Egypt.  How could this happen?  Often it is more difficult to be a believer in good times than in bad.  Tough times push us towards God; but easy times can make us feel self-sufficient and self-satisfied.  When everything is going right, guard your faith closely.

A record of this invasion has been found on an Egyptian stone that says Shishak’s army penetrated as far north as the Sea of Galilee, in the northern kingdom. Egypt was not the world power it had once been, and Shishak wanted to restore his nation to its former greatness.  He was not strong enough to conquer both Israel and Judah, but he managed to destroy key cities in Judah in an effort to regain control of the trade routes and create dissension among the people.

(Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the LORD, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their fathers. – 2 Chronicles 11:16. These people obeyed God rather than Jeroboam.  By their actions, they preserved their integrity and strengthened the southern kingdom.  In the future, most of the people in the northern kingdom would go along with the evil designs of the kings, hoping to benefit by cooperating.  Don’t follow their examples and rationalise away God’s teachings in order to gain earthly reward.)

(The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is just.” When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance.  My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.  They will, however, become subject to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands. – 2 Chronicles 12:6-8. “Serving the kings of other lands” was the price Judah had to pay for disobeying God.  The nation’s leaders thought they could succeed in their own strength, but they were wrong.  When we rebel against God, we always pay for it.  When we leave God out of our lives, we lose more spiritually than we ever gain financially.)