Being abandoned by God

What Happens When God Abandons Superman?

            One of the most tragic scenes on the pages of Scripture involves the strongest man who ever lived, the mighty Samson.  He is the original Superman.  We are familiar with the story recorded in Judges 16.  After failed attempts to learn the secret of his strength, Delilah finally annoyed Samson to the point where he "revealed all that was in his heart." (Judges 16:16ff).  Delilah lured Samson to sleep, cut-off the locks of his hair, and called in the Philistine soldiers to take him captive.  Samson awoke thinking he would fight off the soldiers as before.  However, this time was different.  Verse 20 says, "But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him."  Once the Lord had left him, Samson was on his own.  Relying on his own strength, he was easily defeated, his eyes gouged out, he was taken  captive, bound in bronze chains, and put to work grinding grain, the job of an ox or donkey.  Because of his sin, the Lord left him.

           

            It's a frightening thought to think of the Lord's abandonment.  But Scripture reveals it can happen to an individual (Samson); a tribe (Ephraim, Hosea 4:17); and even a nation (Judges 10).  The reality and reason of such abandonment is accentuated in Proverbs 1:24-31. 

            There's only one reason that would cause God to abandon an individual or nation, and that is unrepentant sin.  There comes a time when sin no longer seems sinful.  Three times in Romans chapter one (vss. 24, 26 & 28), we are told that God "gave them over."  This was due to the "lust in their hearts," "degrading passions," and to "a depraved mind."  A depraved mind means they could no longer distinguish between right and wrong.   The reason for this lack of discernment was because they "suppressed the truth" (Rom. 1: 18).  This is more than serious because it is only the Truth that sets us free (John 8:32).  It is by obedience to the Truth that we purify our souls (1Peter 1:22).  Furthermore, Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6). Therefore, if we suppress the Truth, we suppress Jesus, who is the only Savior (Acts 4:12).

            I certainly don't want to sound like a prophet of doom, but considering the direction our nation is going, I'm forced to wonder if God is giving us over to the lust of our hearts, our degrading passions, and a depraved mind.  This nation, built on the principles of the Bible, has since abandoned those principles.  In reality, God has not abandoned us, rather we have abandoned Him.  Government has even passed laws to persecute those who will not turn their backs on certain truths taught in God's Word.

            Will our "Super Nation" suffer the same fate as the original "superman?"

Toby Miller