Feeling Down?

Have you ever felt alone?  Abandoned?  Lost?  Without hope?

Well, I've been struggling with a bit of that lately.  Things here in southern Illinois have been challenging.  And it looks like it will only continue.  I know, its been quite a while since I last posted, and it really isn't fair that I am posting something a bit depressing.  In a way I'm not posting it for you to read, though you should.  Instead I'm using the blog as a vent.  I wrote the following devo a while back, but its fitting at times like this.



Psalm 34:18
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.


Sometimes, in our most desperate times, God seems far away.  We know He can swoop in and rescue us from our trials.  And we know about His promise that we are saved.  Yet we still feel abandoned.  Even Jesus felt abandonment when He was on the cross.

But are we really alone?

David had moments when he felt abandoned by God.  On the run from a possibly insane king out to kill him, David sought refuge.  He went into hiding, pretending to be crazy.  Yet in all this, he recognized and acknowledged that despite his feelings, God was not missing.  He was still there, comforting and protecting David.

Just like He’s still with us.

It’s a simple fact, but easy to forget.  No matter what struggles we go through, God has not abandoned us, even if we feel He is.  Because that’s just it: we feel He’s far off.  Perhaps we are the ones who have moved.

Father,
Sometimes we wander off and get ourselves in predicaments that are painful or demoralizing.  We feel abandoned by You.  Help us to realize that it is us who did the leaving.  Despite this, stay close, comfort and save us.
Amen