God Lets Us Abandon Him
It is easy to think the Lord has abandoned us when He allows hard times to overtake us (2 Cor 4:9, Rotherham). Feeling abandoned by God can cause us to accuse Him of overlooking us (Ps 42:9, Harrison). We believe He should be treating us better.
What does it really mean to have the Lord abandon us (or to abandon Him)? Often, we think if life is not how we think it should be, that God has abandoned us. In truth, as Paul saw, God never abandons his faithful ones to a wretched fate (2 Cor 4:9, NEB). It may not be the life we want, but His faithful followers enjoy His presence and protection within the context of those trials and crosses He sees fit to allow. He does not shove us away from Him (Rom 11:1) but assures us we never have to face life’s difficulties alone (2 Cor 4:9, Phillips). He is always with us to see us through the hard times He graciously grants us (Phil 1:29; Heb 5:8).
When we abandon having a close walk with God through our sin, He may not protect us as fully so we are more inclined to become closer to Him. When we prefer a doomed thing to Him, we invite Him to withdraw His protection and become distant from Him (Josh 7:12, Moffatt). The result of not walking close to the Lord? We don’t reflect the glory of the Lord as much (2 Cor 3:18, Phillips). To the degree that we doom ourselves by abandoning God (Ps 72:27, JB), to that degree we can be described as a son (or daughter) of the Abandoned One, Satan (1 Sam 25:17, Rotherham and note). If we will not be close to God and under His influence, then we will be more under the influence of Satan, for he is the spirit working in those who rebel against God (Eph 2:2, NJB). God wants us to have life.
Unending pleasure in the next life; training for godly pleasure in this one.