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Forsaking the Lord : God or my desires

 Being forsaken is tough and painful. Being forsaken by someone who claims to love and care for you is heartbreaking and devastating! You often read those Hollywood divorce statements where people say, "This marriage wasn't working for us anymore, and we have chosen to go our separate ways, but we still have deep love for each other." It sounds like a joke, right? But at least those statements are more straightforward than the way many of us as Christians treat God. Many in the church have forsaken the Lord while still claiming to love, cherish, and worship Him.

What does it mean to forsake the Lord, and how can you tell if you are in the process of forsaking Him?

God is love! He is the source of all love. We all seek someone to love us, so why would we forsake the Lord, who is the very fountain of love? Why would we "shoot ourselves in the foot"? In Jeremiah 2:13, God says: "My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and have dug out cisterns—broken cisterns—that can hold no water."

We forsake the Lord when we start to believe that He cannot satisfy our wants and desires. We forsake Him when we begin to think our problems are bigger than His abilities. There are many in the church who have no trust in God's ability to provide for their needs.

In our walk with Christ, we face the temptation to choose our old desires over Him. At different points, we are tempted to believe that someone or something else will finally bring us the peace and joy we lack. Consequently, many are praying, but they aren't praying to draw nearer to Christ. Instead, they are praying for God to give them the very idols that were separating them from Him in the first place. To forsake the Lord is to choose our own desires above Him. If seeking a spouse, a career, or status is what consumes your mind, then your heart is slowly departing from the Lord; you are in the process of forsaking Him.

Many are in the church, but in their hearts, they are already "divorced" from the Lord. You can be married to someone, live in the same house, and sleep in the same bed, yet in your heart, you have forsaken them. It is the same with the Lord. If the Lord is not the priority in our lives—if we are not daily bringing our wants to Him so that He may rule over them—we may be the preacher, the praise leader, the deacon, or even the Pope, and yet in the eyes of the Lord, we have forsaken Him. If my desire to make money is stronger than my desire to spend time with God in prayer and meditation, then I have forsaken the Lord for "broken cisterns."

All who are too busy for prayer and meditation on God's Word have already forsaken the Lord in their hearts. Over time, their true nature will be revealed. Some will leave the church for an unbelieving partner. Others will leave because of work requirements on the Sabbath. Still others will leave the faith because God didn't give them what they desired. When that happens, do not be surprised; know that the individual had already forsaken God in their heart. They simply grew tired of the hypocrisy and allowed the inner reality to come out.

There will be a shaking. God will shake out of His church all who have forsaken Him to cling to their idols and broken cisterns. God will not take anyone to heaven whose heart is not wholly committed to Him. Our choice today is clear: we must either forsake our sinful desires, or our desires will cause us to forsake the Lord.

My prayer today is: "Lord, help me to forsake all desires that lead me away from You. Help me to cling to You alone, for You are my fountain of living water. In You alone will I find true and lasting satisfaction. Help me, Lord, and give me the victory. In Jesus' name, Amen."

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We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6