Relationship closeness can be like a sweet taste of heaven. Abandonment the polar opposite.

Who has abandoned you? Your father? Mother? Sister? Brother? Husband? Wife? Business partner? Friend? Pastor? Counselor? Mentor?

Relentlessly, we run towards them, but they are determinedly elusive, refusing to be caught. They are gone, yet still living. Meanwhile, we collapse, numb, shaken to the core, disillusioned. Abandoned.

Words feel hollow in addressing the wound of abandonment. Nothing can fully soothe the aching heart blindsided by it. Nothing can answer the haunting Why? following it. But hope does prevail in its wake.

First, our ability to choose has not been obliterated, and therein lies a measure of real hope. We have a choice to rehearse the unanswerable questions or to redirect our thoughts. We have a choice to fight the reality of our abandonment or to accept it. We have a choice to believe the pain is purposeless or purposeful. We have a choice to view ourselves as worthless or as valuable. We have a choice to bottle up the grief or to lament. We have a choice to reject humanity or to reengage. We have a choice to be distrustful or trusting. We have a choice to be self-protective or vulnerable. We have a choice to stay in our own head or to receive wise counseling. We have a choice to ignore the Bible or to devour it. We have a choice to grow bitter or to forgive. We have a choice to curse God or to praise Him.

Second, we have a friend who will never abandon.

Psalm 103:17, “But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children.”

Psalm 103:11, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.”

Psalm 136 declares in each verse, totaling 26 times, that God’s “steadfast love endures forever.”

God’s love is going nowhere. It’s here to stay. Forever. Firmly fixed. Unwavering. God’s steadfast love is my steadfast hope.

I do not want abandonment to have the final word. I want to grow in my awareness and faith that unwavering eternal love does indeed exist.

Third, we have godly examples to emulate. Will we fear God like Job, understanding that God gives and God takes away? (Job 1:21) Will we fear God like Joseph, knowing God is with us in the deep pain of abandonment? (Genesis 39:2-3) Will we fear God like Paul, knowing when all desert us, God will stay and strengthen us (II Timothy 4:16-18)? Will we fear God like Jesus, resolutely declaring hours before unfathomable abandonment, “Not my will, but yours, be done?” (Luke 22:42)

Do you fear God? Then receive tremendous comfort in His inability to abandon you. Lament to Him fully concerning those who have deserted you. Pour out every ounce of your heart to Him. (Psalm 62:8) Cling to the Word of God, finding strength in its divine pages. (Psalm 119:28) Fixate on our living hope. (I Peter 1:3, 13)

I cannot rewrite the painful past, but I sure can magnify the comforting reality that our God is going nowhere, our ability to choose is still alive and well, our spiritual ancestors successfully navigated these same waters, and our Living Hope has the final word.

Don’t throw in the towel. Head up. God’s got this; your story is not over.