“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.” (Psalm 22:1, 2)
What does it feel like to be totally abandon? Jesus reached back hundreds of years to find words to describe how He was feeling as He died for us. The physical pain of His death was just a small part of His suffering that afternoon. He had been betrayed, denied and left alone. Now in these words we hear that He experiences the ultimate consequence of our sin…separation from God.
This is the part of the cross that Jesus never wants us to have to go through. He calls us to sacrifice and suffering, ridicule and persecution but He will never abandon us. He knows how that feels and He doesn’t want us to ever experience it. He said:
“I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
Today, take a moment to sit quietly and read through Psalm 22. Think about the broken fellowship Jesus experienced with God so that you would never have to. Write a prayer of thanks to Him that He will never leave you or forsake you.