When My Mental Health Is Sufferingਨਮੂਨਾ

Have you ever had someone leave your life abruptly? Or maybe it was more of a slow withdrawal, where calls and texts became few and far between before finally disappearing? Feelings of abandonment can be devastating, especially when they happen when we are seemingly at our lowest. 

Maybe your sense of abandonment started as a child, at home with your parents or at school where you lost a close friend.  Maybe you’ve had your marriage come to a heartbreaking end.  Or maybe you can’t quite put your finger on a specific situation, but the feeling of constant abandonment looms overhead.

I can imagine Christ knows what it’s like to feel abandoned.  In Matthew 26:56 we read how His disciples “forsook Him and fled” when the Pharisees came with the temple guard and Roman soldiers to arrest Him.  His friends, ones that he had ministered to, provided for, and placed in His inner circle...abandoned Him.  When things got tough, they split.

Wrestling with feelings of abandonment can feel like wading through deep mud.  And if we’re not careful, it can set off a downward spiral that leads to broken relationships, isolation, fear, and depression.

But God sees your pain, and in love is reaching down to comfort your heart.  Not just out of sympathy, but from a deep understanding of having experienced this Himself.

His promise to you is to be with you always.  As your Abba Father.  As your Friend.  

He will never leave you.

The Promise

The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8

The Affirmation

I am cherished by my everlasting Father.

The Prayer

Dear Lord, you see my pain.  You see how I feel abandoned and left behind. Help me to know your presence in my heart right now.  Forgive me when I look to all who have forsaken me rather than to the one who never leaves me.  Thank you that I have the surety of your presence.  Amen.