God Has Not Forsaken You

“And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” Which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:34

 

Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross and suffered a slow, painful death for you and me. Many of us can relate to Jesus' question about feeling forsaken. At one time or another we’ve all felt forsaken, abandoned, forgotten and rejected.

Even though Jesus spoke those words, he knew that God had not forsaken him. He understood he had a purpose to fulfill that required tremendous suffering and separation from his Father for a period of time.

 

Have you ever felt alone and in a state of pain and suffering for a long time with no relief in sight? Just like Jesus, you probably felt abandoned or forgotten about. We'll never experience the kind of torture and pain that Christ suffered but we will go through challenging seasons in our lives that may seem long and agonizing. People are experiencing painful marriage and family issues, horrendous health problems, difficult financial situations, and horrible tragedies. Many have asked God, why am I going through this?  Why did this happen to me? Why does this hurt so bad? When is this going to end? I’ve prayed, I’m trusting and believing in you, where is the change?

 

I myself went through a season of depression, because of loneliness. I wanted a meaningful relationship with someone who really loved me and shared the same faith and ideals as I did. All of my girlfriends were getting married and having children. There I was 29, single, still a virgin and no prospect in sight. I attended one of the largest churches in the city and not one man asked me out on a date! I would say, “God I'm a good person, I try to live right, I’ve kept myself, I'm not dating just to be dating even though everybody else is!”  Why are you making me wait so long? I felt embarrassed because of my age and felt I should be building a family by now. Those feelings and thoughts consumed me and made me feel worthless. Even though my friends were getting married, a few of them married for the wrong reasons in which some are unhappy today. I still felt sad and left behind. I felt God had forgotten about me and my sacrifice and it hurt.

 

“Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you” - Hebrews 13:5. Even when we feel alone God is always there. I had to believe that! During that time of depression in my life, I stayed connected to God through lots of prayer. I kept myself busy with church activities and my pursuit of a gospel music career. I cried my way through many nights but I held on to His word. In time I was blessed with a wonderful man of God, and no he did not come out of the big church I was attending lol!!   

 

God is Sovereign. He’s in control of everything that happens in our lives.  Yes, we will experience difficult times, but there’s always a purpose in our pain and suffering. Character is developed which changes you and makes you a better person. Faith is increased which gives you a stronger belief and trust in God. Eventually, we will enter a place of peace and blessings all for the glory of God. There was purpose in Jesus’ suffering. Even though he was in pain physically and emotionally it was only for a time. Christ’s suffering resulted in “our” restored relationship with God and now we have eternal life.

 

 So how do we get past feeling forsaken by God? 

 

• Trust in God: It's ok to feel defeated, angry, hurt and forsaken for a time. As we read, Jesus felt forsaken for a quick minute. For us, it takes time to press through those emotions, but after a while you have to make up in your mind that no matter how difficult or painful your situation is, you’re not going to give up on God. When you give up on God you lose peace, you lose hope and the outcome may not be what you hoped for. Christ could have easily said Lord, I don’t’ want to give my life for these stubborn, materialistic, selfish, unbelieving people. Had he given up, we might not have a restored relationship with God today. Put your trust in God. No one wants the best for you more than God.

• Praise and Worship: Let me quickly say that praise and worship are not "just" about music, singing, dancing, etc. It includes those things but it's also about knowing God intimately and living a holy life. I will save that piece for another post lol! In this paragraph, I'm focusing on music and verbal adoration. Sometimes it's difficult to open your mouth and verbally acknowledge God's goodness and grace in your life when the hurt is so great. God loves to hear sincere worship and heartfelt praise. Find yourself some good music that gives God glory. Let the words and the music saturate your heart and mind. By the end of those songs, you will have a mouth full of praise and worship to God despite what's going on in your life. "Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and make music to the Lord in your hearts. Give thanks for everything to God the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" Eph. 5:19 

• Prayer and Scripture: Find some alone time with God to pray even if it’s only 5 or ten minutes. Pray to God about what you’re struggling with. Tell Him how you feel. You have to stay connected and be honest with God. Find scriptures that relate to what you’re dealing with and personalize them by putting yourself in them. Speak God's word every day until you feel peace inside and confident that God has not forsaken you.

Blessings,

Tytenisha