Spiritual Journeys: Feeling Abandoned by God - Bible Study Blog

Meditation Song: Weary Traveler by Jordan St. Cyr

What circumstances cause one to feel abandoned by God?

• Unanswered prayer
• Vicious enemies and persecutors
• One’s sin
• Good deeds that do not result in good outcomes
• The prosperity of the unrighteous
• Rejection by those we love and respect
• Unanswered questions of “why”

Does God ever abandon anyone? NO. God never abandons anyone, for any reason. But when we are surrounded by death and evil, we struggle to experience connection with God. These cause us not to feel the life, love, and goodness that are of God.

Psalm 22:1-11 – Plea for Deliverance from Suffering and Hostility. A Psalm of David.

What are some of the occasions when David felt abandoned by God?

• When King Saul was trying to kill him
• When his friend Jonathan died in battle
• When David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah (the prophet Nathan told David, “I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house” cf. 2 Samuel 12:11).
• When David’s son Absalom attempted to usurp David’s throne and kill him 

Interspersed between the verses of lament and complaint, David recalls God’s faithful acts. David praises God for even the simple things God had done: (“Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother's breast” cf. Psalm 22:9).

Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46 – Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

Matthew 26:37b-38 – “Jesus began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’”

• Jesus knows what’s coming. He is about to face down his greatest foe: death.
• Peter has just promised Jesus that he will never deny or desert him. Jesus knows that Peter is making a false promise, and he is rightfully grieved over this.

Jesus says, “Remove this cup from me.” Is Jesus telling God he does not want to bear the cross?

NO. But Jesus is already feeling not only the full weight of death, but also the weight of Judas’s betrayal and his disciples’ abandonment of him. 

Luke 22:44 – “In his anguish [Jesus] prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.”

Even though Jesus has not been arrested, he is already beginning to feel the weight of the cross. Death is as agonizing for Jesus as it is for us.

Jesus tells his disciples to “watch and pray.” He does not want to die alone. Being alone is the ultimate experience of separation from God. 

When you feel abandoned by God:

• Do not think that God is punishing you. God certainly disciplines God’s children, but never by abandoning anyone to suffer death and evil alone. 
• While it is natural to ask “why,” most of the time we can never truly know. Even if we did know why, it would be difficult to determine what to do with that knowledge.
• Recall God’s faithful acts in the past.
• Do not isolate yourself. There is little else that is more damaging to one’s spiritual well-being than loneliness. Let love in.
• Remember that Jesus went into the grave and descended into hell to free you from their power. You are never beyond the reach of God’s saving grace.

When someone you know and love is feeling abandoned by God:

• Avoid speaking cliches and one-liners. Nothing you say (or do) can fix their situation.
• Offer to pray with that person.
• Check in on them regularly, but understand if the person may not be reluctant to talk about “how they’re doing,” because others have likely been asking the same question and they’ve been speaking the same answer. It is enough for you to tell the person that you love and care about them.
• Occasionally, people will be disinclined to receive care and support from others. You will want to do something to help them, but they may not receive your help. “Keep watch and pray” over them as Jesus asked his disciples to do for him.