“Ugh, maybe I should just abandon the whole project.” I received yet another rejection for an essay I’d revised and submitted several times. But then I thought, “My writing colleagues know personal essay writing is hard, uncomfortable work. I can ask them for help.” 

In biblical terms, the word “abandon” relates to God’s promises and steadfast support, as in He will not abandon His people. But there’s also the matter of accountability—and reciprocity. If we abandon Him by worshipping idols, He will not stay with us. A discomforting truth.

Before reading further, you might refer back to last week’s blog post: It’s important not to stay comfortable when feeling too comfortable.

God will not abandon His people

 So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT

In 2009, Keith and I vacationed at Black Water Falls over the Fourth of July weekend. He had encouraged me to read his deceased daughter’s journals as a way to get to know her, a daughter I never met. So, the first morning after breakfast, I stacked the six books in chronological order and dipped into one after another. But, as I read along, her honest admissions brought out the worst in me— judgment, jealousy, anger—qualities I worked hard to hide. I abandoned one book then another and another. When Gretchen described an unsuccessful suicide attempt in her final book, I spiraled into panic, closed the book, and packed up the journals. This was more than I’d bargained for.

Yet, knowing my relationship with Keith would be less if I distanced myself from his loss, I made a firm promise to read the journals, all six books, every word from beginning to end. I did not abandon that promise, nor Keith, nor his daughter. Nor did God abandon me. For that weekend incident was the beginning of my faith journey, Wisdom Builds Her House. It took all the strength and courage I had to bring Gretchen’s story and mine to light.

Deuteronomy 31:6 commands believers to be courageous despite obstacles, to be confident in Him, because God goes before and with them. He will not leave or abandon us, especially during trials. In other words, we do not walk alone as long as we remain steadfast in faith.

If you abandon Him, He will abandon you

The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you. 2 Chronicles 15:2b NLT

In 2 Chronicles 15:2, the prophet Azariah is speaking to King Asa and the people of Judah and Benjamin: “The LORD will stay with you as long as you stay with Him.” This reminds them and us of our relational commitment, of reciprocity. His presence is tied to our faithfulness. He will not abandon us unless we abandon His covenant and guidance. In King Asa’s case, that meant getting rid of idols and restoring the altar of God.

Turning away from God involves spiritual consequences, but He always gives us a way out, an assurance that salvation is not lost if we return. Although Jesus’s disciples abandoned Him on the cross, He did not abandon His followers. But note the reciprocity. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in, The Cost of Discipleship, “The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world.” Follow me, Jesus says, let everything go, and I will give you rest.

Do not abandon friends and family during hardship

Never abandon a friend—either yours or your father’s. When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance. It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away. Proverbs 27:10 NLT

One morning a few years ago, Keith and I woke to the sound of a dog barking outside his brother and sister-in-law’s guest farmhouse in southern Virginia. The young fellow greeted the rising sun with howls of hunger. Backbones lined the length of his body, and ribs creased his copper fur.

Kim and Margaret had left a bag of kibble on a bench in the sun porch, so Keith put a handful of food on the front walkway. The dog approached with caution, head down and tail tucked. 

“Come on, boy, it’s okay,” Keith said while stepping back. The dog gobbled a few nuggets, shied then approached again and ate.

“He might want water, too,” I said.

Kim and Margaret walked over from the main house and said the people who’d lived across the road had moved in the middle of the night a while ago, apparently abandoning the dog.

“We’ll have to call animal control,” Kim said.

“That’s fine,” Margaret said, “but I’m going to buy another bag of kibble. I will not abandon a starving dog.” And indeed, Kim and Margaret did not because they adopted “Pulo.”

Proverbs 27:10 teaches us that we should never abandon a friend or a family friend. Even when we don’t have strong ties, we should not wait for someone to come and rescue a neighbor in need. And that includes a starving dog who shows up on our doorstep.

Linkup with Five Minute Friday

Recent Fridays Roundup over at Happy Hours:

• Gumbo over rice and the bittersweet first day of fall: Keith’s daughter’s birthday
• Chicken Piccata Meatballs, the end of the garden harvest, and winter preparations
• Apple cookies, when bad things happen in threes, hospitality triumphs

One recipe, one story, every Friday. Subscribe free – here.

Wisdom Builds Her House

In 2010 I left a 34-year career in education to build a mountain home with my husband. The literal house went up. Building the metaphorical one took longer. Four mysteries got in the way: my husband’s daughter, who I never met; who I was once I was neither teaching nor raising children; what really happened in 1957 when a man came to rob our house and hurt my mother; and how those things were connected. A memoir from Brandylane Publishers, in paperback, e-book, and audiobook. Find it here.