Abandoned

I’ve seen old houses and buildings that were abandoned years ago. I’ve seen some houses where people actually live that were “abandoned” because the owner deferred maintenance to never.  Abandoned is often used in a negative way. It means to “leave completely, give up, withdraw from”.   As I came across this word, I was reminded of a line in a song that I love to sing….  “God give me a heart abandoned – ever after You alone; Gold and Silver You can take it – all I want is You alone”.   So, the word abandon can be neutral.

Jehoram was the oldest son of Jehoshaphat and he was installed as King of Judah after his father passed. One of the first things he did is kill his brothers. He had married the daughter of Ahab, King of Israel. He was much more like wicked king Ahab than his dad. The Lord had seen enough. He sends word to Jehoram through the prophet Elijah. Check this out…

All this happened because Jehoram had abandoned the Lord, the God of his ancestors. ¹¹ He had built pagan shrines in the hill country of Judah and had led the people of Jerusalem and Judah to give themselves to pagan gods and to go astray.

¹² Then Elijah the prophet wrote Jehoram this letter:

“This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: You have not followed the good example of your father, Jehoshaphat, or your grandfather King Asa of Judah. ¹³ Instead, you have been as evil as the kings of Israel. You have led the people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship idols, just as King Ahab did in Israel. And you have even killed your own brothers, men who were better than you. ¹⁴ So now the Lord is about to strike you, your people, your children, your wives, and all that is yours with a heavy blow. ¹⁵ You yourself will suffer with a severe intestinal disease that will get worse each day until your bowels come out.” (2 Chronicles 21:10b-15 NLT)

I don’t ever want to abandon the Lod – I want to be a follower of Him as long as I’m alive.

I do want to abandon my selfish ways of always wanting what I want even at the expense of others.

I want to be a leader who serves instead of a leader who is self-serving.

I want a heart that is abandoned ONLY to the Lord.  I want my hopes, dreams, ideas  and all my plans to be subject to the Lord’s hopes, dreams, ideas and plans for me.

Pressing On!

Dwayne