Other people have abandoned me—why hasn’t God?

Genesis 40:23Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.

2 Samuel 11:15The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.”

Matthew 26:71-72Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him [Peter] and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said.

Acts 15:37-38Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work.

Numbers 23:19“God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”

People can be unreliable and untrustworthy for many reasons, such as laziness, conflict avoidance, selfishness, jealousy, and fear. However, God is never lazy, selfish, or afraid. He is God—and he always keeps his promises.

Luke 5:30-32The Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?” Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

Luke 15:1-7Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”

Luke 15:11-24Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.”

Maybe you have lived a life of disobedience. Maybe you have wandered so far from God you are not sure you could ever find your way back. Maybe you have done shameful things with the gifts God has given you—things you cannot forgive yourself for, much less expect God to forgive. It may be hard to believe, but the truth is clear in God’s Word: No matter how much you have messed up your life, God still loves you as his child. Christ’s blood has washed you clean—you are forgiven. He will never abandon you. He is seeking you out, and the moment you turn to him, he will welcome you home with open arms.

Genesis 37:28So when . . . Midianite traders came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.

Deuteronomy 31:8“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

Psalm 27:10Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.

Isaiah 49:15“Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!”

Hebrews 13:5God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

We may feel that everyone is against us. We may carry the hurt that others have inflicted on us. But God loves us with a deep and lasting love that surpasses the love of any human relationship. No matter what happens, he will never abandon us. He will always be with us, waiting for us to turn to him.