Do You Feel Abandoned?

Jeremiah 14:19 (NIV)

Have you rejected Judah completely?

    Do you despise Zion?

Why have you afflicted us

    so that we cannot be healed?

We hoped for peace

    but no good has come,

for a time of healing

    but there is only terror.

Mother Teresa is Albanian by birth; her original name is Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. In 1948, she became a citizen of India. She received her spiritual training in Dublin, Ireland and Darjeeling, India and she became a nun in 1937. In September 10, 1946, after teaching for twenty years at a high school in Calcutta, India, Mother Teresa received another call from God to serve the poorest of the poor who lived in the streets.

Archbishop of Calcutta Henry D'Souza knows that at times in her life, she felt abandoned by God. He said that in one letter, she wrote that she had been walking the streets of Calcutta searching for a house where she could start her work. At the end of the day, she wrote in her diary, "I wandered the streets the whole day. My feet are aching, and I have not been able to find a home. And I also get the Tempter telling me, 'Leave all this, go back to the convent from which you came.'" She did find a home and the rest is history. The Missionaries of Charity feeds 500,000 families a year in Calcutta alone, treats 90,000 leprosy patients annually, and educates 20,000 children every year.

Everyone at one time or another will feel like God has abandoned him or her. But do not let the feelings fool you - He is always near.

Dear Lord, thank You that no matter what we feel You will always be in our heart. Help us share that hope with someone today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.