Do You Feel Abandoned by God?
Have you ever felt abandoned by God? For the Christian, there is perhaps no worse experience. Like a four-year-old girl suddenly lost from her parents in the hustle and bustle of a crowded mall, you feel separated, alone, forgotten. In some of the Psalms, not only does the psalmist feel lost in the crowd, but he fears God hasn’t even begun to look for him (Ps. 13:1–4). Psalms 42 and 43 paint just such a picture. Although in our English Bibles they form two separate songs, most scholars believe they originally belonged together. The same questions pepper both laments: “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” (Pss. 42:5, 11; 43:5) and “Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” (Pss. 42:9; 43:2). Of the two, only the first has a title, and Psalm 43 rather nicely concludes the flow of thought from its predecessor. The psalmist’s pain is sharp, and his point is clear: he feels forsaken, and he wants to know why. When we go through such seasons (and we will), how shou