Forsaken

Question: have you forsaken the Lord?  Has the Lord spoken to you about something He wanted you to do but you refused?  

When I think of doing a lesson like this I think of what I call foxhole experiences.  What I mean by that is when people are in the military and are in combat and the bullets are whizzing by their heads or they are in some foxhole where they aren’t sure what the outcome is going to be, these men and women start seeking the Lord for protection and while they are praying, which they may have never done before, they start making promises to the Lord that many of them will never keep after the Lord gets them through or out of the situation they were in.  It is like the old saying I have heard at times, ‘Promises were made to be broken.’  

 Think back over your lives and think of the many times you have promised or told the Lord you would do this or that if He would help you overcome something in your life that you were facing and had no control over, or get you out of a mess that you got yourself into.  How many times have your good intentions turned into non committals which caused you to forsake the Lord?  How many times has He told you to do something and with good intentions you said yes, but then you never did what you said you would?  It is hard to imagine that all those promises have been recorded for the Day of Judgment.

Have you ever thought of this, you can repent and confess, know and find forgiveness and the slate be washed clean, or you can go out into eternity with nothing but pain, sorrow and grief, being forever separated from the Lord, which is called the second death.  You have a choice either to be corrected here and be forgiven or you can wait to be corrected at the White Throne Judgment, hearing these words from the Lord found in Luke 13:27, “But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’”

The Lord’s grace is a beautiful thing, meaning we receive a free gift that we don’t deserve, and that gift is salvation and the forgiveness of our sins.  Oh, the love of Jesus, who is Savior and Lord to all those who put their hope and trust in Him.  

For those of you that haven’t heard of a man called Jonah, he was a man of God and a prophet.  Normally a prophet obeyed when told to do something, but this time Jonah chose to forsake the Lord and run in the other direction instead of being obedient.  God, out of love, corrected him by providing a big fish to swallow him, leaving him there for three days and three nights, not a pleasant situation, but correction isn’t usually a pleasant experience.  While Jonah was fainting away he remembered the Lord and he prayed saying this in Jonah 2:8-9, “Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness, but I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving.  That which I have vowed I will pay.  Salvation is from the Lord.”

Jonah acknowledged the fact that he lied so he repented and found forgiveness from the Lord and the Lord caused the fish to vomit Jonah up on the shore.  Then Jonah did what he was told to do and the Ninevites repented and sat in sackcloth and ashes and God relented and forgave them also.  

If you have forsaken the Lord either by running from Him or outright lying to Him you can be forgiven also by confessing and repenting of your sins, praise the Lord!  Remember God loves you and He wants to have a relationship with you.  Have a great day and may the good Lord bless you and yours!!