Abandoned
- Kara Stephens
- Sep 13, 2024
- 3 min read
“This is how I want to love Him. I want to completely give up my ways of thinking and be completely surrendered to His will.”
“Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:17-19
I am 100% a perfectionist. I’ve taken all the personality tests, all the strengths tests, and they all come out the same. I expect things to be perfect. So when I’m not “perfect”, it affects how I see myself. I feel I’m not worthy of what Jesus did for me…that before I can fully accept the love He has to give me, I need to reach a certain standard. Oh, how far that is from the truth!
God has been reminding me lately of His deep love for me. I’ve had the song “Abandoned” by Benjamin William Hastings on repeat.
When you think of the word abandoned, the definition that comes to mind is being left or deserted…not wanted. When I first heard this song, it didn’t make sense to me. Why would I be singing a song about being abandoned? But there is a second meaning of abandoned. It is unhinged, unrestrained, or uninhibited. It can also mean to give up completely, such as an action or a way of thinking.
This. This is how I want to be with God. This is how I want to love Him. I want to completely give up my ways of thinking and be completely surrendered to His will. I want to love Him with the love that He has for me (which I know could never happen, but I sure will try). I want my love for Him to be unrestrained. I don’t want to be restricted by my thoughts. I want to be sold out to Him and give Him my all. Why? Because of the depth of the love that He has for us. Today’s verse reminds us of how truly great His love is for us. It is wide, long, high and deep. It makes us complete.
He is worthy of living our lives abandoned and completely sold out to Him. Jesus is worthy of our complete surrender. If He was willing to stay on the cross for us, don’t you think the least we can do is to try and live abandoned for Him?
Action Steps:
Listen to the song “Abandoned” by Benjamin William Hastings. Truly take the time to sit with your eyes closed and listen to the words in this song. Reflect on the depth of God’s love for you.
Live your life abandoned and enamored with God and the love that He has for you. Surrender your life to Him.
If you need further proof of the power of God’s love for you, read and reflect on Romans 8:38-39.
Prayer: God, I am so undeserving of Your love, and yet You love me so deeply. Help me to never lose sight of the strength of Your love. I pray that each and every day I am able to return that love to You because of all that You have done for me. Everything that I have is Yours. Thank You for what You did for me. I love You, Lord. Amen.
Written by Kara, a mom who is completely abandoned because of God’s love
