ABANDONMENT

ABANDONMENT: The Only safe Place

Ps. Darryl Woodson

Luke 14:27-33
27 And whoever does not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sits not down first, and counts the cost, whether he has enough to finish it? 29 Lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sits not down first, and consults whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation, and desires conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Jeremiah 29:4-14
4 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; 5 Build you houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; 6 Take yourself wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that you may be increased there, and not diminished. 7 And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in its peace shall you have peace. 8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, says the LORD. 10 For thus says the LORD, That after seventy years are accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall you call upon me, and you shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And you shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found of you, says the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place from which I caused you to be carried away captive.

This is a very prophetic message for reasons that God orchestrated its origin and making and because of its essentiality in every individual’s preparation for 2014.
An illustration is taken of the unfortunate occasion when a mother abandons their baby. This is not rare, even least so statistically in Korea. The dynamics of a mother abandoning their baby are of some complexity. It is not a casual thing for her to do but a great difficulty I believe. Something in her heart holds her back and a hesitancy to carry out the deed is present with her; but at a point when she hardens her heart, she places her flesh and blood down, turns away and leaves. The resolve that it takes for her to do that is confounding in the least, how much guilt thereafter, how much regret!

This illustration begins this message but with a different sense of positivity. A decision on full abandonment of all to God is inevitable for a life of victory for every Christian. Taking a baby to represent our life, abandoning it to God, our hopes and dreams is required of each individual. It is presumed that to die for Christ is easier than to live for Him, to carry one’s cross daily. Without carrying your cross, you cannot be a disciple of Christ, no discipleship with Christ.

Counting the cost is what gets us thinking about what we might or will lose when we abandon our lives to God. Our future, livelihood, marriage, relationships/friendships are only a few of the more common things we all consider in our minds and thus we are counting the cost. Counting and realizing the uncertainty of what lies ahead introduces that nostalgic feel that pulls you to wanting to return to before you felt led to abandonment. Abandoning our will to that of God, even our very selves unto the Will of God places us in safety.

Even still, until we get to a place of abandonment, we struggle on many ways. We need to get to where we see things as God would have us see them, like Him. Where we lose our life to gain it, to know that our life is not our own but that we belong to Him. After we lay our life down, we see possibilities of what we are to gain even before we see it. And this is one of the keys I believe that God gives us to abandonment, to see everything as He does. In the uncertainty of tomorrow, of our destiny, of our future, we begin to take steps of profound trust in God and He reveals His best plan for each life.

Now abandonment begins with the little things that progress into the big things but very deep all the same.
In Jeremiah chapter 29 when God’s people had been taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon, God speaks to the prophet Jeremiah to talk to this people telling them to do as He says. Captive and disheartened, all the people are looking at is their captivity.
God tells them to take their eyes off their captivity, build houses and dwell in them, to seek the peace of the city where He had caused them to be carried away so that in its peace, they would have peace. There is a place of peace in captivity.
They were not to listen to the prophets and diviners in their midst as they speak falsely; these represent people in our lives who speak blindly to us when they have not seen as God sees.
But this is what God says about their captivity and situation as laid out in verses 10 to 14; He has a good future for them, a peaceful future and a hope. Giving ourselves over to God lets us see a hopeful future in a messy and confusing present.
The promise of this comes with the condition then in verses 12 to 14; a life of wholeheartedness calling upon God and seeking Him.

We realize at every turn that things are not always as they seem. Sometimes we just sit and talk to God complaining, asking Him whether He sees what we are going through.
Now Abram, before he was Abraham, abandoned himself to the Will and voice of God leaving his homeland. God promises him many descendants but Abram cannot get mind around this and all he wants is just one son. Sometimes we get this way and all we want is just that one little thing and we figure we will be well. But for Abram, this is not realized for more than 20 years. And so it is in chapter 15 of Genesis that Abram answers God complaining:


Even as Abram, we are in our tent for a time complaining and sulking and pointing fingers.

5 And he brought him forth outside, and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if you be able to number them”: and he said unto him, “So shall your descendants be.”

God getting Abram outside of his tent signifies a lot. Let us get out of our own little world and let God show us His perfect bigger picture, let Him lay out before our eyes what He has planned because He will and is faithful. Let us live in eternity, with a mindset abandoned to hope and living outside of our situations, our tents. Going to another level must be met with abandonment both in the little things and in the big things in our lives! Only God can give us this perspective in His goodness and kindness.

Let us pray that God will have us see as He sees in the year 2014, to live in the promise by being abandoned to God. Thanking God for the men that lived before us as examples, like Abram and Daniel, examples of abandonment to a known God who holds an unknown future.