"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?" Psalm 22:1
I have been thinking a lot about this verse in the past couple days and really mulled over the words of this Messianic psalm. Weren't these the very words Jesus uttered on the Cross? (see Mark 15:34). In a sermon my family and I listened to recently, the pastor pointed out that Jesus had to endure something that we will never have to endure. God forsakenness. There, hanging on the Cross, Jesus endured the reality of God forsaking Him, turning His back on Him. His own beloved Son. Contrast this with the words of promise to us—His children—found in Hebrews 13, towards the end of verse five: "for he [Jesus] hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Isn't that comforting? We have God's presence with us always, even when it seems like we don't feel Him near. He is always there beside us, caring for us. Jesus endured God forsakenness so we would never have to. What an amazing, sacrificial love! Last night, I was hopping around the book of John and reading small portions of verses when I stumbled on more verses along the same lines. Consider this one with me: "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." (John 14:18) You know how you read the same passages over and over again and then one of those times the truth in it just blows you away? That's how it was for me reading this last night. There is His promise again, to be with us. He will come to us and comfort us in those times when we need it. Even His name--Emmanuel--means "God with us." So take heart, readers, in knowing that God is with us and will never ever leave us or forsake us. We will never be forsaken. Blessings, Carolyn
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AuthorHi! I'm Carolyn, a writer seeking to glorify God with my words. Archives
February 2024
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