Forsaken

For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. (Isaiah 54:7 KJV)

I read that verse this morning and immediately this one came to mind:

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 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 27:45-46 KJV)

I know – they don’t “go together.” One does not lead to the other – not a prophecy and fulfillment, but together they made me think of how we allow ourselves to move away from God through sin, then cry out that we are forsaken.

I believe this feeling of being forsaken was part of what Jesus prayed would pass:

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. (Matthew 26:42 KJV)

Dying, painfully was bad. Dying humiliated on a cross was bad. Being separated from God is indescribable. No wonder there was an earthquake in the darkness of that separation.

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; (Matthew 27:51 KJV)

It’s OK to cry out – we all do it. The cross was necessary, but our separations are of our own making and acknowledgment of our errors is necessary. So, when we cry out, are we as prepared as Jesus was to accept God’s will? Do we remember there are consequences?

Sin had come into the world through a man. The plan of redemption included sin’s erasure by one man. To do that, sin was laid upon one man – mine, yours, all, through the ages. If we feel a separation from God due to our own sins, what Jesus carried is beyond our abilities to comprehend, but we can appreciate it.

We can be eternally grateful that when we give ourselves to Him, there is no separation – our sins are gone. Then we can rejoice, as David did:

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. (Psalms 32:5 KJV)

Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!