Isaiah 65:13-16. God promises that his servants shall eat, but those who have forsaken him shall be hungry; his servants shall drink, but the forsakers shall be thirsty; his servants will sing and rejoice, while the forsakers cry out with pain of heart and anguish of spirit. The name of the forsakers will be used as a curse by the chosen, and God will call his servants by a different name. "So that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth." Because the former troubles are forgotten and hidden from God's eyes.

God so wants to forgive us and wipe away our past sins He wants to forget the troubled times, and He wants us to, as well, after we have repented and turned back to Him. I could ask why would anyone not take Him up on this? Why would anyone forsake him? But that would be disingenuous of me. I know why, I have done it myself. I have been seduced by the world and have sought its pleasure. I have let my desires lead me astray, breaking what I knew to be the right rules. I have hid my sin from myself, denying my wrongdoing and resisting the truth when confronted with it. But God has waited for me, and He kept giving me signs and opportunities to repent and turn back, and I thank Him so much that He did.

It took me a long time and a lot of suffering (both my own and that of others) before I saw how much I had forsaken my Creator. Then, though, with a sorrowful heart, but with the joy of knowing His love, I ran back to Him, singing with gladness of heart.

So I know why people forsake the Lord, and I pray and hope that they eventually see the signs He gives them and accept the grace He is offering them. He is waiting, He does not want them to be hungry or thirsty. He does not want them to be in pain and sorrow. He wants to call them by a new name and put all the troubles behind them, hiding their sins from his eyes.