Not Godforsaken

Places that are inhospitable or bleak are sometimes called "godforsaken," but looks can be deceiving.  No matter how barren the landscape or isolated the place the Bible teaches the presence of the almighty God is available and accessible right there and now.  In the darkest dungeon, in the most frantic emergencies, when no help is coming and no one seems to care, God is there and ready to save.

Remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?  They were Jews who were taken captive by the Babylonians and trained to serve King Nebuchadnezzar.  He made an image of gold and commanded when music was played all his subjects would bow down in worship before it.  These three men of faith refused.  They were ultimately thrown into a furnace heated seven times hotter than normal.  In that moment a remarkable miracle occurred:  those who threw them into the fire were consumed by the flames, but only their bonds were burnt off.  They walked free in the midst of the roaring furnace with the Son of God, and when they emerged alive and unharmed from the furnace they did not even smell of smoke.

In Australia we have been reeling from tragedy upon tragedy.  Lives, homes, towns, and countless animals have been lost in the bushfires across the eastern states.  Weeks ago a report reached our shores of a terrible tragedy when White Island erupted in New Zealand and killed many people--including Australians.  Daily there are horrific reports of conflict, tragedy, and great suffering by people all over the globe.  This earth is full of trouble and troubled people looking for someone to blame, looking for answers, trying to make sense of the mayhem.  One thing I know for certain is this world is not godforsaken:  the great I AM has revealed Himself, He has come, and He is here.

Christians look unto Jesus our Saviour who will someday return in glory to judge the world in righteousness.  But in the meantime we are called to walk in love as we follow and serve Him, making disciples of Jesus.  The irony is we can know the abiding presence of Jesus Christ who was forsaken on Calvary when the the sins of the world were laid upon Him.  From the cross He cried out in the darkness, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" hearkening back to the opening words of Psalm 22 penned by David.  David was not forsaken by God (though it felt like it), but Jesus experienced desolation, cut off from the Father.  Because Jesus was thus afflicted those who trust in Jesus as LORD will never be because atonement has been made.  Just because this world isn't what we wish it was Hebrews 13:5 exhorts us to remember what God has promised: "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

In Christ our Saviour we sinners find all our needs miraculously met because through Him God has supplied all we need for life and godliness.  Our eyes look for hope and help, for answers which evade our sight, but what we see is like a slight-of-hand trick with cups where the hand is faster than the eye.  We who have beheld the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ can know we are not forsaken, nor the world God loved enough to send His only begotten Son.  God sent Jesus to seek and save the lost, to open the eyes of the blind, to turn hearts back to faith in God so people might be redeemed.  With our renewed minds and faith in Jesus we can see beyond the current circumstances and how we feel to know God is with us and will never leave or forsake us.  It is Jesus Christ who gives the the strength in fiery trials to trust and press on with joy.