September 27, 2021

Monday

Never Forsaken

Psalm 22:1

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Matthew 27:46

A mysterious passage in the Bible has Jesus feeling forsaken by God the Father. It is mysterious because we think of the Godhead as being united in love and purpose. And it is. But in the moment that Jesus Christ hung on the cross, He was bearing the sins of the world. He had become sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Because holy God cannot dwell in the presence of sin, He turned away from His Son who had become sin in our place. Could there be any lonelier cry in history than these words of Jesus?

Yes, Jesus felt abandoned. But just as He knew David’s “forsaken” lament from Psalm 22:1, He also knew David’s hope of resurrection in Psalm 16. He knew that God’s forsaking was only for a season. On the third day He was alive again! There may be times of discipline in our life in which God’s actions may be “painful” (Hebrews 12:11). But He has not forsaken us; He is not punishing us. He is teaching us to share in His holiness (Hebrews 12:10).

God does not leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). We must walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

A point to ponder…

None can find out a single person whom God has forsaken after having revealed Himself savingly to him. 
Charles H. Spurgeon

Read the Bible through in a year

Habakkuk-Zephaniah

I love you!!!

© 2000-2021 B. Michael Goerlich